Growth of Iraq’s Islamic Banking Sector Expected to Continue: Fitch Ratings 

The Islamic banking sector in Iraq is expected to continue witnessing medium-term assets growth on the back of the government’s strategy to promote Islamic finance and financial inclusion amidst the low banking penetration in the country, according to Fitch Ratings.

Why it Matters?

The Iraqi Islamic banking sector is relatively small and underdeveloped, with a general lack of faith in the financial system. Low knowledge of Islamic products, a lack of standardisation and Islamic liquidity-management tools, and a small product selection are some of the major issues faced within the sector. Since 2015, efforts have been made by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) to improve its Islamic banking system. In 2018, the CBI adopted the Accounting and Auditing...