Inclusive Leadership and its Role in Strengthening Iraqi Banking Anti-Money Laundering Systems: An analytical study of the opinions of a sample of administrative leaders in a number of Iraqi commercial banks
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59992/IJSR.2026.v5n9p8Keywords:
Inclusive Leadership, Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance, Iraqi Commercial BanksAbstract
The present research set out to diagnose the nature of the role played by inclusive leadership, as an independent variable, in strengthening the effectiveness of banking anti-money laundering systems, as a dependent variable, within a sample of Iraqi state-owned and private commercial banks. The research proceeded from the proposition that the efficiency of banking compliance systems cannot be reduced to the legislative and technical infrastructure alone; it is also closely bound up with the leadership patterns that create a secure organisational climate encouraging employees to disclose and report suspicious transactions without fear of penalty. The research adopted the descriptive-analytical method, and the questionnaire was employed as the principal instrument of data collection. It was distributed to administrative leaders and compliance-unit officers in the surveyed banks; eighty (80) forms were received, of which five (5) were excluded for failing to meet the conditions of analysis, giving a final sample size of seventy-five (75) respondents. The data were processed using SPSS V.26 and EViews 12, employing Cronbach's alpha coefficient, Pearson's correlation coefficient, simple and multiple linear regression analysis, and econometric diagnostic tests. The results revealed a strong, significant and positive correlation between the two variables, amounting to (0.706) at the (0.01) level of significance, together with a significant effect of inclusive leadership on the effectiveness of anti-money laundering systems, explaining (49.9%) of the variance in the dependent variable. The multiple regression model further showed that the dimensions of ease of access and communication and of openness contribute most to explaining this effect. The research concluded with a set of recommendations, foremost among them the entrenchment of inclusive behaviours within banking leadership development programmes and the construction of secure reporting channels that protect whistle-blowers.
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