The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq has published recently a new law to license and regulate banks operating in the country. The detailed Law states the conditions for setting up foreign owned banks and branches in Iraq. 

Establishing such banks is conditional upon issuance of a banking license or a permit by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI). The measures permit foreign banks to enter the country as branches, subsidiaries, and representative offices through joint ventures with local banks.

The new Banking Law states that the capital of a domestic bank shall be specified in dinars. A bank shall at all times maintain minimum paid-up capital that is not less than 10 billion dinars or such higher amount as may be established by the CBI.

The Law also elaborates on the activities a bank may engage in subject to the terms and conditions of its banking license or permit