With funding from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (Iraq Assistance), FSVC was able to work with the Central Bank of Iraq on its organizational development. The objectives of this technical assistance were to strengthen institutional and operational planning, strengthen sovereign asset portfolio and risk management, help establish financial institution counterparty relationships, improve operational controls and audit procedures, improve banking supervision, and assist the Governor’s Office and senior management team in formulating responses to challenges on policy fronts related to management of sovereign assets and monetary policies.

In June 2008, the DoS Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (Iraq Assistance) signed a cooperative agreement with FSVC to implement a 67-month program of technical assistance to the CBI, with US$4.6 million in funding.

 

The Government of Iraq was facing challenges of security, functioning of the government and capacity at the CBI, when pressing for stability in the financial sector to permit economic growth to the benefit of the population. The CBI requested FSVC’s assistance to help improve the functioning of the CBI as a fully independent, modern entity. Based on initial meetings with the CBI, FSVC built a program to address key matters such as the monetary policy, financial reporting, general bank supervision, and HR management. Over time, the scope of the work plan slightly changed. FSVC was able to be flexible and adapt to the demand of the CBI, implementing projects in the area of, among others, sovereign risk rating and AML/CFT. The CBI obtained its first sovereign risk rating and is well equipped to address the MENAFATF evaluations and recommendations regarding its AML/CFT work.

Program Impact

  • 56 technical assistance projects carried out by 164 volunteer experts.
  • 589 CBI staff members trained over the course of 5 years.
  • Built CBI institutional capacity across multiple departments, at headquarters and regional branches.
  • CBI organizational structure strengthened and decentralized.
  • New tools for evaluating counterparty risk.
  • CBI became better equipped to manage the supply of currency, and improved its audit report.
  • Banking Supervision Department (BSD) established regulations for the five-member IT supervision team and received training on field audits.