Credit Bank of Iraq was originally set up in 1998 by traditional Iraqi merchant families with a paid up capital of IQD 200 million before the bank was listed on Iraq stock exchange in 2004. NBK was one of the original three banks to be granted a license to operate in Iraq and later in 2005 the first bank to successfully complete the purchase of an Iraqi bank. In 2005, when NBK acquired its 75% stake in Credit Bank of Iraq, it also increased the bankAos capital. NBK helped develop Credit Bank of Iraq and advance it to be one of the top private banks in Iraq.