Association of Banks in Jordan stresses global reach of industry

AMMAN — Jordanian banks have a presence in five different continents, Maher Mahrouq, General Manager of the Association of Banks in Jordan, said on Tuesday. 

In a session during the Jordanian-Iraqi Finance and Business Forum, Mahrouq noted that this presence of Jordanian banks stresses the great development of the banking sector in the Kingdom, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During a session titled "Investing in the Financial and Banking Sector: Opportunities, Challenges, Experiences and Success Stories", he pointed out that the Iraqi market is one of the most important Arab markets for Jordanian banks, due to the economic relations and significant experiences between the two countries.

Mahrouq said that Jordanian banks operate in Iraq through direct ownership of Iraqi banks, or by establishing branches or representative offices.

He referred to several factors that enhance Jordan's banking presence in Iraq, including the promotion of trade, investment and financial stability, the exchange of knowledge and expertise, and the development of financial architecture.

For his part, Director General of Banking Studies at the Central Bank of Iraq Bassem Mohammed noted that Jordanian-Iraqi economic relations are "distinguished", and joint interests of the two countries are constantly developing to higher levels, particularly in the banking sector.

Mohammed said that Iraq is currently facing a new phase of progress, particularly in light of the country's stability, which represents an opportunity to boost economic and investment cooperation with Jordan.

He added that the Central Bank of Iraq, over the past period, managed to address economic challenges through launching initiatives that aim to help the banking sector sustain its financing operation for economic sectors.