Iraq’s banks hit with $96M in fines in 2025

Shafaq News– Baghdad

The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) stated on Tuesday that fines imposed on banks and non-bank financial institutions, including exchange companies, exceeded 126 billion Iraqi dinars (about $96 million) in 2025.

Statistics issued by the bank show that total fines levied between January and the end of December 2025 reached 126.34 billion dinars, down from 229.14 billion dinars in 2024, alongside 120 administrative penalties ranging from warnings and notices to compliance grace periods. 238 administrative sanctions were imposed in the previous year.

CBI did not disclose the names of the banks or financial institutions penalized.

Iraq currently has around 75 banks, including 24 private commercial banks, one of the highest in the Middle East, 31 Islamic banks, and 17 branches or representative offices of foreign banks.