Abstract

Sustainable development is one of the basic directions that countries seek and put in place plans and policies in order to harmonize with their standards and move towards patterns of economic activities that take into account the requirements of sustainable development. The study aims to determine the trends of Iraqi banks towards financing sustainable development as one of the most important financial institutions in providing financial services and a basic pillar in financing economic projects, making them able to adopt activities and provide financial products that contribute to supporting aspects of sustainable development and achieving social responsibility in relation to preserving the environment. The development of the volume of financing and the patterns in the Iraqi banks was analyzed based on the annual financial reports for the period (2012-2018). (10) banks were selected as a sample for the study, two of which are governmental and (8) private. The questionnaire was adopted as a basic tool in collecting data on the trends of banks, as the distributed questionnaires reached (48), of which (32) were retrieved, which were distributed to managers because they are more able to describe the basic trends of banks and determine the nature of their policies with regard to financing sustainable development. The results of the analysis, according to the dimensions that were adopted, showed a weak trend in setting banking policies focusing on financing sustainable development. This aspect is informally included in the mechanisms and instructions for granting loans, due to the conditions in which banks operate and the absence of central trends that support the initiatives of financing sustainable development projects. The study recommended the adoption of integrated policies between the central bank and banks to attract the required financing to achieve the sustainable development goals, and grant special incentives to banks to encourage them to introduce new products for sustainable development financing.