The Central Bank of Iraq’s Banking Studies Center held a course titled “Information Technology Governance Framework” from September 27 to 29, 2026. The central bank’s October 6 notice said the course was part of its annual 2026 training plan. It aimed to help banks manage technology investment and resources in line with institutional objectives, strengthen controls and compliance, and address technology risks. The notice confirms the course was completed but gives no participant count, list of attending banks or examination results.

The source says the sessions covered IT-governance concepts, assessment of governance maturity within a bank, the development of technology policies and controls, and preparation of improvement plans. The content was intended to connect IT governance with a bank’s wider strategy and consider digital transformation, oversight, compliance and risk-management requirements together. This scope emphasizes that technology governance is more than buying systems: responsibilities, decision processes and control mechanisms also need to be defined within an institution.

The course is a capacity-building activity for governance knowledge in banking; completing it does not prove that banks changed their practices or reduced risk. The notice reports no post-course assessment, institutional maturity scores or count of policies put into operation. Subsequent audit findings, documented policy changes or technology-risk indicators would be needed to assess effects. Dates should also be distinguished: the course ran September 27–29, while the central bank published its notice on October 6.

The topics matter because banks need to connect technology decisions with risk appetite and continuity of services. Whether that happened cannot be determined from a course announcement; evidence would have to come from governance oversight, internal-audit findings and controls put into practice. The central bank notice is the primary source for the course content and dates, but it does not publish an assessment of how widespread or effective the programme was across the sector.

Institutional value would depend on whether the framework is carried into banks’ processes. The source reports no implementation follow-up or outcome assessment, so the training activity must be kept distinct from the actual quality of controls in banks.