The representative for Basra Governorate, Aqeel Al-Khalidi, announced that he had submitted a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives about the Central Bank Governor’s decision to restructure the Central Bank branch in Basra, stressing that it would in turn be referred to the Central Bank Governor.

Al-Khalidi said that the bank’s branch in Basra, which was established in 1957, was managed by a general manager, which gave it prestige and independence in proportion to the geographical area it covers, which includes the governorates of Basra, Maysan, Dhi Qar, and Muthanna, and he is responsible for monitoring and supervising financial institutions.

He described the decision to reduce the administrative level of the Basra and Nineveh branches, without affecting the Erbil branch, as dangerous and inappropriate for Basra's economic status, noting that the decision transforms the directorate from a general administration led by a general director to a regular directorate headed by an assistant director.

Al-Khalidi stressed that the government's ambition should be to make Basra the economic capital of Iraq on the same level as Baghdad, and not to diminish its economic importance.