Five consortiums led by US banks and a lone British bank have made the final round as applicants to head the newly established Trade Bank of Iraq, the Wall Street Journalreported this morning.
A selection panel will hear presentations from the six finalists today and tomorrow in Bahrain, and US officials expect to make their decision within days, the report said.
Bids from three groups of banks have been rejected, the report said. The final consortia are led by US firms Bank of America Corp, Bank One Corp, Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Wachovia Corp.
Britain's HSBC Holdings Plc is the only bank under consideration as a single entity.
The winner will manage Iraq's trade bank, which will make it possible for Iraqi agencies and oil concerns to buy big-ticket items from other countries using letters of credit.
US estimates indicate business at the bank could swell considerably, from $100 million a month initially to as much as $500 million a month, when the country's oil sector recovers, the newspaper said.