The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided a trade finance limit of up to US$75 million (€65 million) to Iraq’s Al Mansour Bank for Investment (MBI) to support international trade.
The facility is being offered under the EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme, which provides guarantees and cash advances to back trade finance activities, the EBRD announced on Tuesday.
Trade finance is the banking support that helps companies pay for imports and exports, such as through guarantees that reduce payment risk.
The EBRD said the package will help facilitate import and export transactions by covering political and commercial payment risks linked to cross-border trade.
It also added that the funding is intended to expand MBI’s trade finance business and strengthen its correspondent banking network — relationships with overseas banks used to process international payments — at a time when access to international banking services and trade-related financing remains limited in Iraq.
Support for smaller firms and key sectors
The EBRD said the facility is expected to increase the availability of trade finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), as well as support trade across sectors including agriculture, construction, manufacturing and consumer goods.
The bank said it is also providing technical assistance funded by the EBRD, including advisory support, specialised training and participation in its trade finance e-learning programme, alongside workshops on compliance, fraud prevention and risk management.
MBI was established in 2006, is majority owned by Qatar National Bank Group, and operates eight branches across Iraq.
The EBRD began operations in Iraq in September 2025 and has said it is focusing on private-sector development and improving access to finance.
