Iraq to Raise Bank Capital To Address Housing Crisis

The governments two banks will run a credit program to help citizens finance private housing projects.

Iraq plans to increase the combined capital of the only two governmental banks in the country, from about $23 million currently to about $360 million next year. Deputies in parliament say that this increase is aimed at supporting housing loans for citizens, in order to help them face the increasing housing crisis.

According to a member of the parliamentary Economic Committee, the two banks – Rasheed Bank and Rafidain Bank – “are running a credit program that will help citizens finance private housing projects. The most prominent feature of this program is the so-called ‘100 salaries’ credit. This is a loan given to civil servants that is equivalent to 100 nominal [monthly] salaries, provided that the civil servant can show the bank a title deed for a residential unit in his name.”

To read more from Al Monitor, click here.