The Central Bank sponsors a meeting to establish a national company to manage electronic payment systems in Iraq

The Central Bank sponsored, today, Wednesday, a meeting to establish a national company to manage electronic payment systems in Iraq.

The Central Bank’s media office stated in a statement received by {Al Furat News} that “Central Bank Governor Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq chaired the first preparatory meeting to establish a national company to manage central electronic payment systems in Iraq, with the participation of a number of bank officials, bank managers, electronic payment service provider companies, and the Iraqi Private Banks Association.”

He added, “During the meeting, the importance of regulating electronic payment operations, keeping pace with rapid technological developments, and creating a competitive payment industry that provides secure, reliable, easy-to-access, widely interoperable payment services, rapid response, and high flexibility to technical and regulatory changes were discussed.”

The office stated that “the meeting reviewed the company’s basic objectives and the special requirements for starting the establishment, as it will undertake the tasks of managing some of the central and basic electronic payment systems at the national level, operating them and developing them,” noting that “this step came in line with the strategic plan of this bank, which goes hand in hand with the government program in the field of electronic payment and its development in Iraq.”

Alforatnews.iq

Parliamentary Wealth: Oil and Gas Law Stalled in Government Halls

Deputy Chairman of the Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee, Nehru Rawandozi, revealed today, Wednesday, the latest developments related to the legislation of the oil and gas law according to the political agreement between Baghdad and Erbil.
Rawandozi told / Al-Maalouma / agency, “The legislation of the law was part of the political agreement paper on the basis of which the current government was formed, but the issue of its legislation still faces many differences.”
He added that “the committees formed by the government have not completed their work in full, which hinders sending the draft of the oil and gas law to the Council of Representatives.”
He pointed out that “there are political differences over the draft of the oil and gas law between the center, the region and the oil-producing provinces, noting that there is a government committee formed by the Prime Minister consisting of representatives of the three main components in Iraq: Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.”
He pointed out that “the committee tasked with preparing the draft law has not completed its work in full so far, which hinders sending the draft law to the Council of Representatives.”

Almaalomah.me

The Central Bank of Iraq creates an electronic platform to manage complaints from clients of financial institutions

The Central Bank of Iraq (Financial Inclusion Department) announced on Wednesday the establishment of an electronic platform to manage complaints from clients of financial institutions.

The bank stated in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency that it “seeks to automate the work of the financial sector to reduce reputational risks and enhance trust between all financial institutions and the public. In this regard, it has created an electronic platform for managing complaints, the work of which is summarized in automating the financial institutions’ receipt of public complaints via the complaint form link, and managing their processing under the supervision of the Central Bank.”

He explained that “the response period for a complaint filed against financial institutions on the platform takes between one and five working days, determined by the Central Bank of Iraq through the system for each complaint based on its nature and the importance of processing it. If financial institutions do not respond to the complaint directed to them through the system within the specified time, a fine of (100,000 Iraqi dinars) will be imposed for each complaint for each day of delay.”

He explained that “this came in order to develop the performance of institutional work and simplify government procedures by shifting to digital transactions, and for regulatory objectives that are consistent with the Central Bank of Iraq Law No. (56) of 2004, as the sectoral body supervising the work of all licensed financial institutions, and in view of the continuous development witnessed by the electronic financial industry, and its great importance in achieving economic growth, financial stability and enhancing levels of financial inclusion.”

shafaq.com

Economist warns of ‘danger’, takes aim at central bank: Banks are evaluated by 1970s standard

Economic expert Mustafa Hantoush warned today, Tuesday, of a danger to the Iraqi economy caused by foreign banks inside the country, while he pointed out that the Central Bank evaluates local banks according to the “seventies standard.”

Hantoush told Sumaria News, “Iraqi banks are evaluated by the Central Bank of Iraq according to the (camels) standard, which is the standard of the seventies of the last century, so we find weakness in the banking operations of the Iraqi banking sector because the Central Bank’s standard does not give it importance in the evaluation,” stressing the need to “adopt a modern standard that focuses on (deposits – loans – investments – electronic payment).”

He pointed out that “the Iraqi banking sector is almost at a standstill, and work and profits are confined to a number of banks (owned by foreign owners) supported by their countries and governors of their central banks,” considering that “these banks pose a threat to the Iraqi economy and their liquidity position is ambiguous.”

Alsumaria.tv

Returning one billion dinars to the Iraqi state treasury, seized by a private bank

Shafaq News / The Supreme Anti-Corruption Commission announced on Tuesday that it had recovered one billion dinars to the state treasury, explaining that the recovered amount represents part of the total amount in the case of violations committed by one of the departments of the Ministry of Commerce that opened an account in a private bank, in violation of the law.

The Government Media and Communications Office stated in a statement, speaking about the case that the Authority investigated and referred to the judiciary, that based on the directives of the Chairman of the Authority to continue following up to recover the full amount, the Authority was able to recover an amount of one billion dinars to the Ministry of Commerce – Export Support Fund, from the United Investment Bank, pursuant to the instrument numbered (0018732) issued by Rashid Bank on 7/11/2024, noting that the total amounts recovered in this case amounted to (22,000,000,000) twenty-two billion dinars.

He added, explaining that the Export Support Fund deposited an amount of (69,000,000,000) sixty-nine billion dinars in the United Investment Bank in violation of the controls and instructions of the Central Bank, and when the amounts were requested from the bank, it was found that they did not have any financial amounts; for the bank officials to invest in them, noting that the Authority’s procedures resulted in the arrest of the Director General of the Export Support Fund Department at the Ministry of Commerce previously and other accused.

Shafaq.com

Nearly 200 billion dinars in “fines” from the Central Bank of Iraq on banks and exchange companies

Shafaq News / The Central Bank of Iraq announced on Tuesday that fines imposed on banks and non-banking institutions (exchange companies) amounted to more than 181 billion Iraqi dinars during the past six months.

A table of the bank, which Shafaq News Agency has reviewed, showed that “the fines imposed on banks and financial companies during the past six months, starting from January until the end of last June, amounted to 181 billion, 842 million, 854 thousand, and 458 dinars,” indicating that “the fines also included 151 administrative penalties for these banks and non-banking institutions, distributed between warnings, alerts, and grace periods.”

The table showed that “January witnessed the highest fines on banks and non-financial institutions, as these fines reached 98 billion, 277 million, 722 thousand, and 62 dinars, with 17 administrative penalties, while June witnessed the lowest fines, reaching 2 billion, 829 million, 157 thousand, and 288 dinars, with 30 administrative penalties.”

The table did not show the names of the banks that were fined and subjected to administrative penalties.

The Iraqi Stock Exchange Investors Association had criticized the Central Bank of Iraq’s increase in fines on banks, noting that it would affect the profitability of investors in the shares of these banks.

Shafaq.com

Banks are working to keep the exchange rate high.. The secrets of the dollar crisis against the dinar

Economic expert Omar Al-Halbousi confirmed that the crisis of the dinar exchange rate against the US dollar is due to many factors.

Al-Halbousi said in a press statement: “It is well known that the rise in the dollar exchange rate and the decline in the value of the Iraqi dinar have been ongoing for more than two years, and here we confirm that the value of the dollar is stable, but the value of the Iraqi dinar fluctuates between rise and fall, and most of the time it is a fall.”

He continued, “The rise and fall of the Iraqi dinar exchange rate against the dollar from time to time is due to several reasons, including the continuation of trade with the sanctioned countries, which requires financing from outside the platform by relying on the parallel market, which is the real controller of the exchange rate. Until now, the Central Bank has no authority over it,” noting that “there are countries that live on the dollar in Iraq in the absence of the role of the Central Bank to regulate the exchange rate and stop the currency bleeding, with the penetration of these countries through private banks that dominate the currency selling window.”

He explained that “private banks also push for the exchange rate to remain high, because it benefits them. They have exploited the law of delivering dollar remittances to individuals and companies coming from abroad and delivering them to their owners in Iraqi dinars and at the official price, and then they sell the dollar at the parallel market price, which increases their profits. Therefore, they are a stumbling block to the stability of the exchange rate and stopping the bleeding of the value of the Iraqi dinar.”

He explained that “remittances and the currency sales window are monopolized by a few banks that control the exchange rate and manipulate it as they wish, which explains their achievement of imaginary profits from dollar remittances, which has begun to drain Iraqi oil revenues that finance the window, knowing that the volume of daily dollar sales is very suspicious and contradicts the volume of goods entering, which means the continued smuggling of dollars abroad, carried out by the banks controlling the window and remittances and with international collusion,” noting that “the American sanctions and the continued threat of them are another reason for the continued decline in the value of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar with the inability of the Central Bank to solve the problem of sanctions with the American side, as well as the inability to control the work of banks and control their fraudulent work that has caused Iraq problems with the Americans, in light of the continued smuggling of dollars in various ways practiced by banks owned by foreign countries.”

The economic expert pointed out that “the government is still counting on the Central Bank and its management to control the exchange rate, which the Central Bank has not succeeded in, but rather has failed in all its steps with the arrogance of private banks and their control over the Central Bank with external support, in addition to the influence of these banks within the Central Bank, which means that until now it has not found a solution to stop the decline in the value of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar, which will lead us into major problems in the coming days, especially if new American sanctions are imposed on Iraq, in addition to the rise in the geopolitical conflict in the region that casts its shadow on Iraq in a multi-faceted manner.”

Burathanews.com

Due to financial violations, a representative demands that Al-Sudani end the assignment of the Central Bank Governor

Information / Baghdad… Today, Monday, the member of the Parliamentary Integrity Committee, Hadi Al-Salami, called on the Prime Minister to end the assignment of the Governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Alaq, stressing that oral questions will be directed to the Governor of the Central Bank.

He told Al-Maalouma Agency, “There are parliamentary demands to end the assignment of the governor of the Central Bank due to his failure to control the official and parallel dollar exchange rate.”

He added, “There are many observations on the performance of the Governor of the Central Bank, in addition to his reaching the legal age, noting that he directed questions to the Governor of the Central Bank and is waiting for a date to be set by the Presidency of the House of Representatives to host him in the House of Representatives.”

He stressed that “the reason for requesting hosting is the existence of a major defect in the bank’s work and the existence of financial violations estimated at about $120 million per month.”

Almaalomah.me

Al-Maliki: An “emergency” order thwarted the resolution of the Parliament presidency file

Shafaq News / The head of the State of Law Coalition, Nouri al-Maliki, said on Monday that an “emergency” had thwarted the resolution of the parliament presidency file, and denied talk about the Shiite component seeking to control the position.

Al-Maliki added in statements followed by Shafaq News Agency , “The issue of the presidency of the House of Representatives is a crisis that must be highlighted because it interacted and developed as a result of differences in points of view.”

He explained that “the legislative, executive and judicial institutions are the basis for the process of building a state with a democratic system,” noting that “the stability of the legislative authority and its work in accordance with partnership constitutes support and backing for the executive and judicial authorities.”

Al-Maliki stressed “the importance of the stability of the legislative authority with a full presidency and representatives who manage this vital institution,” stressing that “the Coordination Framework is keen to complete the political process in electing a Speaker of the House of Representatives, and has taken the initiative more than once to find a consensus among the Sunni forces.”

He pointed out that “the dialogues between the Sunni parties and the Coordination Framework were positive, but an urgent matter prevented the resolution of the Parliament presidency issue.”

The political forces have not been able to elect a new parliament speaker since the termination of Mohammed al-Halbousi’s membership in November 2023 due to disagreements, while the Coordination Framework set July 20 as the date to resolve Sunni disagreements over this file, without any commitment to the date.

It is worth noting that the State of Law Coalition, led by Nouri al-Maliki, expected on Monday of last week that Mohsen al-Mandalawi would continue as Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives until the end of the current (fifth) parliamentary session.

The leader of the coalition, Saad Al-Mutalibi, told Shafaq News Agency, “The differences between the Sunni political forces are still ongoing and are without solutions, especially since the file of electing the Speaker of Parliament cannot be resolved without an agreement between Mohammed Al-Halbousi and Khamis Al-Khanjar, and there is no agreement between the two parties until now.”

Shafaq.com

Electronic payments in Iraq exceeded 2 trillion dinars during the past month

Economic researcher, Munar Al-Obaidi, confirmed that electronic payments in Iraq increased during the month of July, exceeding the barrier of 2 trillion Iraqi dinars.

Al-Obaidi stated in a statement that “electronic payments increased during the month of July 2024 to exceed the barrier of 2 trillion Iraqi dinars, based on the increase in government electronic payments, which amounted to 912 billion Iraqi dinars during the past month of July, an increase of 17% compared to June 2024, in addition to the increase in electronic payments for points of sale, ATM withdrawals and cash withdrawals by 26% to reach 1 trillion dinars.”

Al-Obaidi added, “Electronic payments for bill payment services such as electricity, passports and other services increased by 40% to reach 31 billion Iraqi dinars, while electronic payments for fuel stations increased by 4% to reach 44 billion Iraqi dinars.”

He pointed out that “the total electronic payments during the year 2024 amounted to 10.4 trillion Iraqi dinars and is expected to reach more than 20 trillion Iraqi dinars.”

Al-Obaidi explained that “these statistics include electronic payments that pass through the national switchboard and do not include electronic payments that occur at points of sale outside Iraq.”

He explained that “the significant growth that occurred over the course of a year in government electronic payments is clear, as is the increase in electronic payments for bill payment services, but electronic payment operations through fuel stations are still below the required level compared to the volume of fuel derivatives that are sold.”

He pointed out that “government electronic payments constituted 45% of total payments, while electronic payments for points of sale, ATM withdrawals and cash withdrawals constituted 51%, while electronic payments for service bills amounted to 1.57%, and electronic payments for fuel stations amounted to 2.19%.”

Rawabetcenter.com