KTFA:
Clare: Instructions and standards for handling and exchanging banknotes, as well as counting and sorting mechanisms
January 15, 2023
Regarding the standardization and updating of controls and instructions related to the standards for trading banknotes and their replacement, we enclose below an updated copy of the standards and instructions that will be approved in the counting, sorting and delivery of banknotes as of 15/1/2023
» To view the controls and instructions , click here
Clare: The Central Bank: There is nothing left in the banking sector except for banks that are able to perform their functions
January 15, 2023 Economy News – Baghdad
On Sunday, the Central Bank of Iraq clarified its procedures for monitoring the performance of private banks and improving their work, while noting that only banks that are able to perform their functions remain in the banking sector.
The bank’s advisor, Ihsan al-Yasiri, said, “The Central Bank of Iraq began three years ago with procedures to complete reform procedures in the banking sector,” pointing out that “the private banking sector is one of the promising sectors in Iraq, as the central bank attaches great importance to it, similar to the government banking sector.” .
Al-Yasiri added, “The central bank does not distinguish between the private and public sectors, but the private banking sector is one of the engines of development in Iraq, in addition to the government sector,” noting that “the private banking sector has a role in spreading the funds of the Central Bank of Iraq’s initiative in lending to different sectors.” (residential, agricultural, industrial, and commercial), as his effort was evident in this field.”
He pointed out that “some banks suffer from a group of problems, and the Central Bank, in turn, is currently taking several measures for the purpose of enabling them to stabilize and reassure the public of their performance,” stressing that “there are other banks that are doing well and playing excellent roles.”
He pointed out that “the Central Bank, due to its confidence in some private banks, has initiated measures to encourage foreign banks and foreign central banks for the purpose of opening financial corridors for them, to enable them to practice money transfers for foreign trade purposes.”
He stressed that “the central bank usually supports every bank that tries to improve performance and services provided to the public, as a result, the private banking sector is an important part of the Iraqi banking sector, and the central bank attaches great importance to it and encourages it to improve performance.”
And that “public confidence in the private banking sector and the banking sector in general is increasing gradually with the strength of the Central Bank’s procedures and oversight,” according to the official news agency.
He continued, “The private banking sector and initiative funds are currently financing the development of projects, the establishment of new projects, and the employment of the unemployed,” stressing that “some banks are trying to reach satisfactory levels.”
He noted that “the Central Bank is currently monitoring the performance of some banks and supervising their performance, and there is nothing left in the banking sector except for good banks that are able to perform their functions.” LINK
*****************
Clare: The profits of “Pepsi Baghdad” during 2022 exceed 60 billion dinars
Economy News – Baghdad
01/15/2023
The Baghdad Soft Drinks Company, “Pepsi Baghdad”, achieved a profit of more than 60.68 billion dinars during the year 2022.
According to the company’s budget, revenues amounted to more than 680 billion dinars, up by 27.8% over the year 2021, which amounted to 532.5 billion dinars.
The company’s assets amounted to 559.5 billion dinars. LINK
**************
Clare: Sudanese advisor: The total public debt is estimated at $70 billion
Economy News – Baghdad 01/15/2023
The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed, on Sunday, that the foreign reserves in Iraq are very high, while specifying the total public debt.
In an interview with the official news agency, Salih said, “The country’s internal public debt is currently estimated at about $50 billion, which is entirely owned by the government banking system (that is, debt within the government apparatus and not outside it).”
He added that “63% of the internal public debt is held by the Central Bank of Iraq and represents local assets in the structure of the central bank’s balance sheet,” noting that “the remainder of the internal debt is held by the three main government banks, with an annual interest of between 2-3%.”
He pointed out that “the effective external debt that must be paid during the period from 2023 does not exceed 20 billion dollars, which means that the total public debt is estimated at about 70 billion dollars currently and constitutes only a percentage of 30% to 35% of the country’s gross domestic product, which is a safe percentage.” Very compared to the standard or international standard of 60%.
He continued, “The efficiency of the country’s foreign reserves is very high and covers external debt liabilities by 5 times, which is a high and reassuring standard ratio and reflects the strength of Iraq’s financial situation,” noting that “the mechanism for repaying internal and external debts takes place through annual allocations approved in the federal budget.”
And he continued, “Fiscal policy in Iraq tends to adopt the principle of financial discipline, which is based on gradually reducing the total accumulated public debt, offset by narrowing the annual deficit in the federal general budget and making the debt created when necessary within the standard ratios, not exceeding the created public debt of 3% annually.” LINK
Clare: Iraq chairs the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union
Baghdad – 01/15/2023
The House of Representatives announced, today, Sunday, that Baghdad will host the thirty-fourth conference of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union and the accompanying committees, from February 23 to February 26.
The media office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives stated in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “Iraq headed the Arab Parliamentary Union, as the presidency of the Union moved to Iraq, and Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi was assigned as head of the Union, starting from the ninth of January.”
He added, “Baghdad will host, from February 23 to February 26, the work of the thirty-fourth conference of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union and the accompanying committees, with the participation of the heads of the councils and parliaments of the Arab member states of the Union, in addition to many parliamentary organizations and institutions that have observer status in the Union.” LINK
** ************
Clare: Central Bank Governor: The rise in the exchange rate of the dollar is a temporary problem and it will be overcome
Economy News – Baghdad
01/15/2023
Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi received, on Sunday, the Governor of the Central Bank, Mustafa Ghaleb Makhaif, in the presence of the heads and deputy heads of the Parliamentary Finance and Economic Committees.
Al-Halbousi listened, according to a statement by his office, to a “detailed explanation of the measures taken by the Central Bank in regulating the economic sector related to foreign currency trading, whether cash sales or financing foreign trade. The governor also explained the steps taken by the Central Bank and what it will take to overcome this problem. Stressing that it is temporary and will be overcome once the foundations that were built to address it are established.
Al-Halbousi stressed that “the council supports the Central Bank of Iraq in its steps to address the high exchange rate of the dollar, with an emphasis on the need to develop regulatory solutions that address unregulated phenomena in economic activity in general,” calling for “understanding the challenges facing the monetary authority and the need to assign its procedures from the authorities.” concerned in the state. LINK
***************
Clare: What is the secret of the decline of the Iraqi dinar despite the increase in dollar reserves?
Economy News-Baghdad 01/15/2023
The exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar has been witnessing fluctuations against the dollar for about two months, despite the large jump in foreign exchange reserves, which is currently close to $100 billion, thanks to the rise in oil prices
. While parties in the country hold Washington responsible for this decline,
and while the official fixed exchange rate is 1470 dinars against one dollar, the price of the dinar in the market has declined since mid-November to 1600 dinars at the beginning of the week, before settling at about 1570, according to the official news agency, i.e. The Iraqi currency has lost about 10 percent of its value
, and this decline is not considered huge, but it has begun to cause concern among Iraqis about the high prices of imported materials, such as gas and wheat, for example.
Adviser to the Prime Minister for Financial Affairs Mazhar Salih says, in a report to Agence France-Presse, that “the fundamental and fundamental reason” for this decline “is an external constraint,”
but some Iraqi politicians consider that the United States is behind this fluctuation
. Contrary to rumors and misinformation, there is no evidence of American pressure on Iraq.” The important economic and commercial partner of neighboring Iran,
in fact, the fluctuation of the dinar is linked to the start of Iraq’s compliance with some standards of the international transfer system (Swift), which Iraqi banks must apply since mid-November to access To Iraq’s reserves of dollars in the United States
In order for Iraq to be able to access those reserves, which amount to $100 billion, it must now comply with systems that “require compliance with the provisions of global anti-money laundering, provisions for combating the financing of terrorism, and those related to sanctions, such as those applied to Iran and Russia,” according to Tabakishli,
adding that the matter is related to entering Iraq is “within a global financial transfer system that requires a high degree of transparency,” but this “caused a shock” to many Iraqi banks “because they are not used to this system.”
Mazhar Salih explained that Iraqi banks should now register their “transfers (in dollars) on an electronic platform.” The requests are scrutinized…the US Federal Reserve checks them and if they have doubts they stop the transfer.”
Since the implementation of the restrictions began, the Federal Reserve has refused “80 percent of requests” for remittances to Iraqi banks, according to Salih, due to doubts about the final destination of those amounts being transferred. He said this refusal affected the dollar supply in the Iraqi market. On the other hand, the demand accumulated, but the supply was not consistent with it, and thus the exchange rate declined with the decline in bank transfers in dollars
In the meantime, the Iraqi authorities have taken measures, including facilitating the financing of private sector trade in dollars through Iraqi banks, and opening outlets for selling foreign currency in government banks to the public for travel purposes.
The Council of Ministers also decided to “commit all government agencies to sell all goods and services inside Iraq in dinars and at the rate of the central bank, which amounts to (1470) dinars per dollar.
” Despite the
dinar’s decline, the inflation rate is still small, reaching 5.3 at an annual rate in October 2022, according to the Ministry of Planning. However, actual concerns are related to the purchasing power of the population.n LINK
************
Henig: The dollar will reach 170,000.. A warning of the “extreme” anger of the Iraqi street
SUNDAY, 01-15-2023, PM 4:53 KARRAR AL-ASADI
Today, Sunday, the expert in economic affairs, Raad Al-Masoudi, confirmed that the dollar is facing two strong pressures in the Iraqi markets, warning of the overwhelming anger of the street.
Al-Masoudi said, “The rise in the exchange rate of the dollar in recent weeks has prompted an estimated increase of 7-10% in prices on average in the Iraqi markets,” adding, “But its frequencies will be greater due to the high import costs, with the presence of speculation, monopoly, and weakness in the control tools.” This means that the citizen’s attrition will be at the highest levels.”
He added, “The smuggling of the dollar out of the country and the pressure of the US Treasury on the central bank are two strong pressures on the exchange rate, pointing out that its rise to 170 is very likely,” noting that “the danger of the high price of the dollar and its impact on the markets will create a suffocating economic crisis that may lead to a wave Massive demonstrations, especially since the poverty rate in the country exceeds 30%, meaning that the situation will be very complicated if there are no logical solutions to the current crisis, according to the “Baghdad Today” website.
And yesterday, a member of the House of Representatives, Raed al-Maliki, announced the collection of parliamentary signatures to discuss the policies and procedures of the Central Bank regarding the rise in dollar exchange rates and the decline in currency exchange, in the presence of the Governor of the Central Bank.
According to documents issued on the 10th of this month, “the signatures of more than thirty deputies have been collected demanding a discussion of the Central Bank of Iraq’s actions regarding the rise in dollar exchange rates and its instability in the local markets.” LINK
