A specialized site that monitors the Iraqi banks: its difficulties and prosperity

 https://shafaq.com/ar/تقارير-وتحليلات/موقع-متخصص-يرصد-بنوك-العراق-مصاعبها-وازدهارها

A specialized site that monitors the Iraqi banks: its difficulties and prosperity
 
Reports and analyzes    Breaking    gold    The Central Bank of Iraq    Cash reserve
2022-09-17 17:39
 
Shafaq News/ The British website "International Bankers", which specializes in bank issues, considered that Iraq, despite the wars and crises it faced, its efforts through the Central Bank of Iraq are now contributing to strengthening its banking sector to develop.
 
Under the title "The growing central bank’s ambition is granted the prosperous banking sector in Iraq, the British website stated that
 
"maybe no country in the world has witnessed internal chaos during the past twenty years, more than Iraq."
 
The British report translated by Shafaq News;
 
In this context, he referred to the devastating military conflicts that Iraq witnessed, such as the US invasion in 2003, and ten years later, adding that Iraq fought an arduous battle in order to resume its civil and ordinary life.
 
After being made to the efforts made by Baghdad and the Central Bank of Iraq, which contribute to a great development in the banking sector, he mentioned the
 
statements of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Development Bank, Ziad Khalaf Abdul Karim, in which he said that
 
"Iraq suffered for a long time of isolation at a time when financial and international banks worked on setting Many of the international standards that we all have to work, "noting that there was
 
"a lack of communication between Iraqi banks and the rest of the world, which led to weakening confidence in the Iraqi banking sector."
 
Despite this, the report drew attention to the great efforts made by the central bank by continuing to show its fixed commitment to stabilizing the banking sector, recalling that the bank announced last May that it raised its capital to 5 trillion dinars (3.42 billion dollars) from 3 trillion dinars.
 
The Central Bank also indicated that the capital of the central banks and their financial centers

"reflect the sobriety of these institutions, the
durability of their assets and
capabilities to support the banking sector and the economic sector in general." 
 
The report continued that in mid-August,
 
the Central Bank announced its cash reserves to 82 billion dollars, which means that these reserves have returned to the level of the stage before the ISIS war,
 
during the era of former heads of ministers Haider al-Abadi (2014-2018) and Adel Abdul-Mahdi (2018-2020) Where the bank’s reserves were drained significantly,
 
indicating that a spokesman for the bank said recently that
 
the bank will continue to increase reserves with the aim of reaching 90 billion dollars by the end of this year.  In addition,
 
the central bank jumped 10 centers in the world rankings for gold reserves to reach the 30th place, by acquiring 130 tons of gold, indicating that the World Gold Council was noty that Iraq was the largest gold buyer of the year during the month of June.  Meanwhile,
 
the Central Bank of Iraq is making a lot behind the scenes in order to provide the lenders with sufficient financial sources to finance the development that has strengthened the need in Iraq after the war.  For example,
 
in coordination with the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank took measures to face the most urgent challenges in front of the banking sector, and launched a project to provide banks with an amount of 1 trillion dinars (686 million dollars) with the aim of supporting small and medium companies by creating job opportunities, along with an initiative of their value 5 trillion dinars to support large institutions.
 
In addition, the banking sector was provided with a large amount of 15 trillion dinars in order to enhance development in the real estate, industry and trade sectors.
 
After referring to the concerns that climatic and drought effects will lead to a decline in the gross domestic product of Iraq by 4%,
 
he stated that the central bank is working in one of the largest oil exporting countries in the world and relies heavily on oil revenues, which represents more than 95% of the financial budget for Iraq About 60% of GDP.
 
He added that there are major risks posed by climate change, which prompted the central bank to carry out urgent measures.
 
The report quoted the Director General of Investments at the bank Mazen Sabah Ahmed as saying;
 
The bank offers through local banks 1 trillion Iraqi dinars (690 million dollars) through low -interest and easy-to-term loans, to support water and green and renewable energy projects,
 
in addition to working to enhance societal and cultural awareness about the economic repercussions of the climate-related risks to the Iraqi people.
 
With regard to the bank’s foreign relations,
 
the report stated that there is a clear desire to enhance banking and monetary relations with its neighbors, noting that
 
the bank’s governor visited Iran in February to meet his counterpart Ali Saleh Al -Abadi, while he was quoted by Iranian Vice President Mohammad Makhbar as saying that

Iraq. It has a special place among the neighbors of the Republic of Iran because of the deep religious, cultural and historical relations with Iran.
 
While the report regained what was broadcast by Al -Arabiya channel that the 

warm relations between Iraq and Iran are also linked to the help of Tehran to evade the sanctions imposed by Western powers led by the United States, by opening credit accounts in the smaller banks to enable Iran to import oil derivatives to meet local needs, He considered that the
 
illegal financial activity represents the greatest obstacle for Iraqi banks to overcome it, including the issues of embezzlement in banks, such
 
as what happened recently, which was described as a "organized sabotage of the national economy."
 
The report also reminded President Barham Saleh's statement recently that corruption incidents were a disaster for society, noting that
 
at least 150 billion dollars have been stolen and smuggled from Iraq since 2003, while
 
official figures indicate that this number is greater than that and is 400 billion A dollar, while
 
Iraq ranks 157 out of 180 countries in the corruption index.
 
The report expressed the hope that the Central Bank and Baghdad will quickly address such issues and adhere to guarantees to protect and enhance the credibility of the banks' reputation in Iraq.
 
He pointed to procedures announced last July, in order to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
 
The representative of the Anti -Money Laundering and Terrorism Office at the Central Bank of Iraq, Hussein Al -Makram, was quoted as saying that

Iraq’s procedures related to combating money laundering and terrorist financing were decided in light of international requirements, standards and local requirements.
 
The report concluded by noting that the

possibility of expanding Islamic banking services that may provide hope for Iraq, thanks to the large number of Muslim population, although only 8.1 % of the total assets of the banking system and a share of 3.7 % of total deposits.
 
He also pointed out that according to the World Bank,

about 81% of the adult population had no bank accounts in the year 2021, compared to 60 % in the Arab world.
 
He also indicated that

about 24% of the population who do not deal with banks take this position for religious reasons, which is considered among the highest rates in the world.
 
Translation: Shafaq News Agency