Rafidain Bank
Encyclopedia
Rafidain Bank is the largest bank in Iraq
, with 165 branches inside Iraq and with branches in Cairo
, Beirut
, Abu Dhabi
, Bahrain
, Sana'a
, Amman
and Jabal Amman
. Its HQ is in central Baghdad. The bank was established in 1941 and in the 1960s in a wave of Ba'ath nationalisation became a state bank. In 1988 the Rafidain's non-performing assets were carved out into the Rasheed Bank
.
The Bank was very badly damaged by the first Gulf War and the economic sanctions against Iraq
. These sanctions were behind the closure of Rafidain's London
Branch in 1990. During the second Gulf War the bank was again badly hit. It is estimated that around a third of Rafidain's branches were destroyed during the second Gulf War and that the bank lost around $300m USD through looting. Today Rafidain Bank has around 45% of banking assets in Iraq.
In 2007 Bayan Jabor, the Iraqi Minister of Finance signed a contract with British
companies B-Plan Information Systems and Misys
to rebuild the bank, in a turnkey contract to supply a core banking system, hardware, communications systems and training to Rafidain Staff, across all branches inside and outside Iraq. This project will cover basic retail banking and trade finance but advanced banking functions such as ATM
networks, Card
Management and internet banking will be considered by the Ministry of Finance in later stages.
This project will represent the first commercial bank in Iraq to work on a modern electronic banking system and should be completed by the end of 2009.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, with 165 branches inside Iraq and with branches in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
, Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, Sana'a
Sana'a
-Districts:*Al Wahdah District*As Sabain District*Assafi'yah District*At Tahrir District*Ath'thaorah District*Az'zal District*Bani Al Harith District*Ma'ain District*Old City District*Shu'aub District-Old City:...
, Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
and Jabal Amman
Jabal Amman
Jabal Amman is one of the seven hills that originally made up Amman, Jordan. Today, Jabal Amman is near the old downtown area.-History:Along with the rest of old Amman, Jabal Amman was first settled during the Neolithic period. But unlike nearby hills, particularly Jabal al-Qal'a, Jabal Amman was...
. Its HQ is in central Baghdad. The bank was established in 1941 and in the 1960s in a wave of Ba'ath nationalisation became a state bank. In 1988 the Rafidain's non-performing assets were carved out into the Rasheed Bank
Rasheed Bank
Rasheed Bank is the second largest Iraqi bank, with 162 inside Iraq. The bank was established in 1988....
.
The Bank was very badly damaged by the first Gulf War and the economic sanctions against Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. These sanctions were behind the closure of Rafidain's London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Branch in 1990. During the second Gulf War the bank was again badly hit. It is estimated that around a third of Rafidain's branches were destroyed during the second Gulf War and that the bank lost around $300m USD through looting. Today Rafidain Bank has around 45% of banking assets in Iraq.
In 2007 Bayan Jabor, the Iraqi Minister of Finance signed a contract with British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
companies B-Plan Information Systems and Misys
Misys
Misys plc is a business that makes and sells software to banking, investment, and, formerly, to medical businesses. The company merged its healthcare information technology division with Allscripts in 2008...
to rebuild the bank, in a turnkey contract to supply a core banking system, hardware, communications systems and training to Rafidain Staff, across all branches inside and outside Iraq. This project will cover basic retail banking and trade finance but advanced banking functions such as ATM
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a standard switching technique designed to unify telecommunication and computer networks. It uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing, and it encodes data into small, fixed-sized cells. This differs from approaches such as the Internet Protocol or Ethernet that...
networks, Card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
Management and internet banking will be considered by the Ministry of Finance in later stages.
This project will represent the first commercial bank in Iraq to work on a modern electronic banking system and should be completed by the end of 2009.