Takeover alert as Iraq moves to trim banks - The National

Iraq wants to reduce its number of local banks by more than a third, creating as many as 15 takeover targets for international lenders seeking to gain a foothold in the country.

The move follows last week's disclosure that Standard Chartered has started discussions about the potential acquisition of a stake in Warka Bank, said the deputy governor of Iraq's central bank.

"We are trying to evolve these private banks into real institutions," said Mudher Kasim. "The first step was to segregate shareholders from management and increase the capital requirement to push the banks to consolidate, merge or join up with foreign banks to practice good standards and service."

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