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