Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI), a state-owned entity that facilitates trade dealings, is planning international expansion to boost retail revenues.
TBI chairman Faisal Al-Haimus told Reuters that the bank is planning to expand in China and the Gulf region.
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The move is expected to increase revenues from retail banking and international operations from the current level of 25% to 30% by 2022.
The plan includes opening a representative office in China next year. It also aims to upgrade its current licence in Abu Dhabi to open an asset management company in the Emirate.
Faisal al-Haimus was quoted by the news agency as saying: “With our expansion, in China, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, retail and international business will contribute 30% of our total revenues by end of next three years.”
Last year, the bank’s revenues stood at $550m with trade financing accounting majority of the share. Overall, TBI has assets of around $30bn.
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By GlobalDataThe bank was negotiating to acquire a Gulf-based bank with branches in the UAE and Qatar. However, Al-Haimus told Reuters that the talks are now abandoned as the Gulf bank opted out from the prospective deal.
It is still in talks with some other lenders in a bid to boost its revenues.
Al-Haimus was quoted as saying: “There are a couple of banks we are still looking at, it is very early stages.” He did not divulge the names of the lenders.
This year, TBI forayed into Saudi Arabia by opening a branch in Riyadh, which is set to become fully operational in September. Currently, it has 25 branches in Iraq.
