(18 May 2004 – Iraq) Several international banks looking to run operations in Iraq have been threatened with having their bank permits withdrawn if they are not on the ground and operational by the end of 2004 in the embattled country.The banks are: HSBC, Standard Chartered and National Bank of Kuwait.
Standard Chartered has already admitted to seeking an extension of the end-of-year deadline from Iraq’s central bank, and has withdrawn the two members of staff it had in Iraq for reasons of security.
HSBC has yet to place any staff in Iraq, nor has it applied for an extension. However, the bank said this did not mean that it would not apply for an extension to the deadline.