Falling oil prices caused a liquidity shortage at Iraq’s listed banks, reducing their overall profit before tax 44 percent to 74 billion dinars ($68 million) in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to a report by Rabee Securities in Baghdad. Turmoil related to Islamic State’s insurgency shrank bank deposits by 14 percent in the first nine months of 2015 to 6.54 trillion dinars ($5.97 billion), the brokerage added.The report, dated Dec. 29, covered the unaudited earnings of 22 banks listed on the Iraqi stock exchange. “Revenue and profit growth of Iraq’s banking sector have been affected negatively by the decline in oil prices, which resulted in a liquidity shortage in Iraq,” it said. “With the critical security situation and […]