Iraq's Central Bank

Iraq's central bank on Wednesday eased financial restrictions imposed on the Kurdistan region over its independence vote after receiving a pledge of cooperation from Kurdish banks, an Iraqi banking source said.

All but four Kurdish-owned banks were allowed to resume dollar and foreign currency transfers on Wednesday, the source told Reuters.

Iraqi Kurdistan's cash-strapped government has seized billions of dollars in deposits at two branches of Iraq's Central Bank since 2014, bankers said, calling into question the region's image as a business-friendly paradise in the Middle East.