TNT:
Tishwash: A meeting at the Central Bank confirms the institution’s neutrality and its role in supporting the budget.
The Central Bank of Iraq held an expanded meeting on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) with representatives from several Iraqi media outlets, in the presence of the bank’s governor, Ali Al-Alaq, to discuss a range of financial and monetary issues related to the bank’s role in supporting market stability and strengthening compliance and banking oversight procedures.
The meeting was attended by Saif Al-Hashemi, director of the Baghdad Today news agency, along with a number of other media colleagues.
Al-Allaq said during the meeting, which was attended by “Baghdad Today”, that the Central Bank is exercising its role with complete neutrality with regard to the general budget,” stressing that the bank’s responsibility is focused on controlling monetary policy and maintaining the stability of the exchange rate, in addition to managing foreign transactions and supervising banks, without interfering in the form of the budget or its political or economic options.
The governor explained that the central bank is working to create a balance between the planned deficit and the actual deficit through monetary policy tools, noting that the bank’s role in this regard depends on measuring liquidity, the size of issuances, and the level of monetary stability required to support the budget without putting pressure on the market.
Al-Allaq also reviewed the ongoing banking reform phases, which include strengthening compliance, developing payment systems, and improving oversight procedures for the banking sector, stressing that these steps are essential to prevent any practices that harm the market or affect the value of the currency locally.
Regarding financial stability, the Central Bank reassured attendees that the country’s economic situation is “stable and under control,” and that the measures taken during the past months have contributed to reducing volatility and strengthening confidence in the financial system.
The attendees raised a number of questions about the bank’s relationship with the budget and its role in managing the exchange rate, in addition to mechanisms for reducing speculation in the market, while the Central Bank affirmed its continued communication with the media to ensure clarity of information and avoid inaccurate reporting on financial matters.
This meeting comes amid escalating discussions about the budget deficit and the growing need for an effective monetary policy to mitigate the effects of regional and economic tensions, particularly given the Iraqi markets’ vulnerability to the repercussions of the ongoing conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States, and its impact on local market activity.
The Central Bank also aims to clarify its media strategy to ensure that accurate information about monetary policy reaches citizens and those interested in economic affairs. link
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Tishwash: Al-Awadi: Iraq is not an open arena for conflicts, and the government will take all measures to maintain the stability of the region.
Government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi affirmed that “Iraq is not an open arena for conflicts…and the government will take all necessary measures to maintain the stability of the region.”
In a televised statement, al-Awadi said, “The region is witnessing escalating tensions extending from Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria to the Gulf states,” noting that “Iraq, as an Arab country and a neighbor to the countries of the region, is keen to listen to the concerns of its brothers.”
He added, “The Iraqi government is working continuously to achieve positive results that contribute to calming the situation,” clarifying that “Iraq is not an open arena, and some of the information circulating regarding security developments may contain inaccuracies or misinformation.”
The spokesperson explained: “The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ali al-Zaidi, is personally overseeing this matter and following up on the file directly. He is in contact with our brothers in the Arab countries and the Gulf states.
He has directed the formation of committees at the Ministry of Defense, Joint Operations Command, and military units deployed along the borders to communicate with our brothers to provide appropriate information for verification. If it is proven that any attack originated from within Iraq, the government will take all appropriate measures to preserve the sovereignty of Iraq, its neighbors, and the region.” link
Tishwash: An unprecedented financial crisis hits Iraq: A $5 billion gap threatens salaries.
Financial and banking expert Mahmoud Dagher confirmed on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) that Iraq is currently experiencing its biggest financial and economic crisis since 2003, due to the severe deficit in oil revenues, which did not exceed one billion dollars this month, compared to an actual need of more than 6 billion dollars (equivalent to 8 trillion dinars) to cover the salaries of employees and retirees monthly.
Dagher confirmed, in an interview with journalist Ahmed Mulla Talal, which was followed by 964 Network , that there is no solution to the current crisis except resorting to “discounted transfers” to increase the internal debt by printing new money from the Central Bank and lending it to the Ministry of Finance.
This is a necessary measure that will lead to raising the internal debt from 100 trillion to nearly 140 trillion dinars. He warned that this path will inevitably lead to direct pressure on the foreign currency reserve and reduce it, expecting that the dollar exchange rate will take an upward trend in the local markets.
Internal “money creation”: No withdrawals from reserves, but printing and borrowing
Dagher refuted the rumors circulating about the state resorting to direct withdrawals from foreign currency reserves, stressing that the mechanism currently in place is “issuing new money” from the central bank and lending it to the Ministry of Finance through debiting remittances via banks.
The banking expert explained that this measure, which was previously used during the era of former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, represents a process of creating local money, revealing that discounted transfers started steadily from 3 trillion and then jumped to 4 trillion, and are likely to rise to compensate for the absence of live oil revenues and to secure funds for citizens in the markets.
Indirect depletion… How will foreign currency reserves be affected?
Dagher warned that the real danger to the central bank’s reserves comes indirectly through the movement of liquidity in the market. When a citizen receives his salary in “printed” dinars, he goes to buy, and the merchant returns and asks the central bank for dollars, exchanging them for dinars.
He pointed out that the previous equation was based on the Ministry of Finance handing over dollars to the Central Bank to secure dinars, but now the Ministry of Finance does not have dollars, which puts full pressure on the foreign reserves and threatens to reduce them, recalling how this mechanism previously caused the reserves to drop from 60 billion to 35 billion dollars during previous crises.
The triad of “Al-Zaydi, Finance, and the Central Bank”: The desperate have no choice
The financial expert confirmed that this critical situation was on the decision table from the first day of the appointment of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who rushed to hold an urgent meeting with the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Central Bank to develop solutions.
Dagher asserted that there is no alternative solution on the horizon for financing the state other than relying on Central Bank transfers to the Ministry of Finance to increase internal debt, considering that this measure is not an editorial error but rather the option of extreme necessity for which no economic expert in Iraq has a realistic alternative at the present time.
The dollar will rise and domestic debt will jump to nearly 140 trillion.
Dagher predicted that the dollar exchange rate would take an upward turn in the local markets during the coming period, noting that the rise would not be rapid or crazy because the central bank has sufficient reserves and a high adequacy ratio, but this balance is threatened with collapse if the war and its repercussions continue for another year at the same current pace.
Dagher concluded his economic vision by pointing out that Iraq’s internal debt, which previously stood at 94 trillion and has now reached 100 trillion, is strongly heading towards a threshold of between 130 and 140 trillion dinars, which puts the country’s fiscal policy in the eye of the storm.
The Ministry of Oil announced on Monday (May 18, 2026) the total of Iraqi oil exports during the month of April, saying that it amounted to 9 million and 884 thousand barrels, with revenues amounting to about one billion dollars, while Iraq’s oil exports before the US-Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amounted to about 100 million barrels with revenues of up to 7 billion dollars, which means a loss of 6 billion dollars during last April. link
