U.S. sets up Iraqi trade bank

U.S. sets up Iraqi trade bank

WASHINGTON: The U.S. governor Iraq, Paul Bremer, has created a Trade Bank of Iraq, opening a global race for a potentially lucrative contract to run it, an official said on Tuesday.

Bremer, on a week-long visit to the United States to brief officials on the reconstruction, signed an order creating the trade bank at the weekend, Treasury Department spokesman Tony Fratto said.

The bank would issue and confirm letters of credit -- basically payment guarantees -- to smooth trade flows, boosting imports such as heavy construction equipment and also freeing up exports, particularly of oil.

Bremer, the U.S.-appointed civilian administrator of Iraq, would name a president of the Trade Bank of Iraq "well before August", Fratto said.

The newly installed bank president would then select a banking consortium for a one-year extendible contract to operate the facility. -- AFP