The strategy of the Central Bank of Iraq (2016-2020) is a systematic application of banking reform

The Central Bank of Iraq launched its strategy for the years 2016-2020 in conjunction with Iraq facing an economic and financial crisis because of the global oil price drop by more than 70% and a security crisis by occupying terrorism up to 40% of the country’s lands. At the time, an economic situation is cruel, complicated, and full of risks, confusion, confusion, and chaos at the level of internal and external economic and financial relations, which is important to us as specialists in economic and banking affairs. What are the new mechanisms and policies adopted by the Central Bank and The government and private banks and related parties regarding banking reform, according to the desired fundamental change approach to the national economy contained in the strategy, which constitutes the banking sector, the first and primary link in it.

The central bank strategy has defined and charted the path for banking reform according to the following main objectives:

* Supporting and achieving financial stability.

* Activating the role of the banking sector and financial institutions.

* Developing the organizational structure and organizational structure.

* Development of human capital.

* Activating and integrating internal and external relations.

Since these strategic goals have been defined as a period of five-year applications for achieving 23 sub-goals that I derive from, based on achieving financial stability, establishing the financial system, generalizing financial inclusion, and achieving institutional and structural reform for the banking sector in Iraq.

Through an analysis of the mechanisms and work points to achieve the above goals, we note that the strategy set clear priorities for achieving reform and certainly that these priorities were diagnosed in light of the challenges facing the banking sector due to the stifling economic and financial crisis that Iraq suffers from for subjective and objective reasons which can be diagnosed as follows:

* Working to achieve the objectives of monetary policy, the most important of which are the stability of the exchange rate, the maintenance of the purchasing power of the Iraqi dinar, the rate of inflation, and the building of a foreign monetary reserve.

* Work to restore the confidence of citizens and customers in the Iraqi banking sector.

* Working to increase the ratio of savings to the cash mass in circulation in banks to the percentage of hoarding outside the banks, where the savings rate reached 23% and the percentage of compactness 77%. Increase the percentage of financial inclusion and the delivery of banking services to the widest spread of geographical area and at the level of governorates, districts and districts, and increase banking density in this direction.

* The necessity of completing the structural and technical pillars of proactive monitoring.

* Establishing and activating the Deposit Guarantee Company and issuing a law to combat money laundering and the Islamic Banking Law and reviewing the legislative environment laws that regulate banking work.

* Reviewing and evaluating the results of the banks ’business and reclassifying them by approved international companies. And identify weak banks that need the intervention of the Central Bank of Iraq to rehabilitate, re-activate and protect them from bankruptcy.

* Claiming government support and assistance and compensation for the banks that were damaged in the provinces occupied by ISIS.

* The need to strengthen and activate the initiative of the Central Bank in financing small and medium projects in a manner that contributes to stimulating the economic cycle and diversifying the resources of the public budget.

* The necessity of reviewing the organizational, technical, and administrative structure of the Iraqi Central Bank and government and private banks while confirming the principles of governance and determining the intervention of owners in the executive departments of banks.

Therefore, and for the purpose of applying the banking reform approach in accordance with what was stated in the strategy according to an insight into the priorities and challenges faced by the Iraqi banking sector, the Central Bank made exceptional efforts during the previous years of the strategy and achieved many goals from the primary and subsidiary goals and tries to complete achieving all the goals in the year 2020, the last year of The strategy. Therefore, the executive and procedural steps and achievements made by the Central Bank during the period of implementing the goals of the strategy can be identified as follows:

First: To study and analyze the reality experienced by governmental and private banks by reviewing, evaluating and classifying these banks based on their financial statements and the results of their business for the years (2016-2019) and adopting clear evaluation indicators based on the applicable banking law and international standards. And determining performance efficiency standards for banks in all areas of administrative, banking and credit banking work and identifying banks that continue to operate in the banking market and banks that are proposed to merge with other banks in order to increase the efficiency of their work and change their current departments with specialized and efficient departments and develop the work of good and discreet banks and help them to continue to work within the sector The Iraqi banker is within its sound and healthy contexts, given that the banking sector is the basis for building the national economy.

Second: The establishment of the Central Bank of Iraq with full control and supervision of the movement of banking business in Iraq by focusing on pre-emptive electronic and field office oversight in a programmed and planned manner, identifying violations, omissions and abuses of the banking executive departments and taking corrective measures. And download the legal responsibility of the Board of Directors and the Executive Management in a specific and clear manner.

Third: Implementing the decision of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Iraq on the controls for nominating members of the Board of Directors and leading employees of banks and focusing on professional competence, job integrity, personal and commercial reputation, and specialist expertise.

The application of the principles of governance and separation between owners and executive departments and not allowing them to interfere at all with the executive work. Owners can adopt specialized advisors in preparing banking plans and determine the efficiency of performance and follow up the implementation of what the Council plans in a manner commensurate with the concern for the funds of shareholders and customers.

Fourth: Maintaining the Iraqi dinar exchange rate against foreign currencies. Building foreign exchange reserves exceeding $ 80 billion despite the challenges and crises that the country has gone through.

Fifth: The establishment of a deposit guarantee company and legal procedures are ongoing for the purpose of commencing them soon.

Sixth: Activating and developing the initiative to encourage and finance small and medium projects of economic and development feasibility and work continuously jointly with banks to increase the allocation for financing to the ceiling of one billion dinars for each development project and facilitate procedures, conditions and guarantees and achieve the economic and social goal.

Seventh: Commitment and action in accordance with the controls issued by the Central Bank of Iraq with regard to combating money laundering and terrorist financing derived from the recommendations of the Financial Action Group (FATF). The liquidation of the negative comments installed on Iraq, which contributed to the exit of Iraq from the gray area to the regular follow-up area, and building international banking relations with the central banks and discreet correspondent banks.

Eighth: Commitment to the regulatory instructions developed by the Central Bank in cooperation with the Metac Center of the International Fund and make them live up to international standards and the requirements of Basel III.

Ninth: The shift in preparing the final and interim data to the International Accounting Standards (IFRS), which guarantees the transparency of data and its handling by all parties responsible for financial reporting.

Tenth: Work to encourage and stimulate financial inclusion processes and try to increase its percentage in Iraq through the adoption of the salary settlement project, which is a step to reduce the use of cash and the direction of growth of the non-cash community.

Eleven: Use all methods and procedures to be adopted to verify sources of funds and follow up on combating money laundering and terrorist financing in accordance with Law No. 39 of 2015.

Twelve: Taking the necessary measures by adopting the standards and rules of compliance and risk management and adopting a precautionary policy that contributes to sensing risks and then taking the necessary means to deal with any risk.

Thirteen: Adoption of the unified bank number (IBAN), which contributes to improving the level of banking services, clearing services, and settlement of payments locally and internationally.

Fourteen: Commitment and action in accordance with the policies and procedures contained in the Governance Manual, which establishes transparency, disclosure and separation of management from ownership.

Fifteen: Issuing the electronic payment system for funds No. 3 of 2014, establishing the National Payments Council, governance controls, institutional management of information and communication technology, regulations and legal instructions that govern the work of banks and electronic payment services providers.

Sixteen: Establishing advanced and pursuit infrastructure for the latest global technologies, developing the bank’s financial and banking systems, payment systems and advanced communication networks according to the latest technologies.
And the ownership of the central bank, banks and electronic payment companies for advanced payment systems as well as retail payment structures, and the National Divider was one of its most important parts.

Seventeen: Granting work licenses to many electronic payment services providers (card issuers, collectors, processing of mobile payment company operations, billing bidders and payment gateways through various channels).

It is clear from the above accomplishments that the central bank and the banking sector have overcome the challenges of the gap between Iraq and other countries because of the occupation and terrorism, and today it is proceeding with a steady step to achieve the digital transformation in the financial and banking sector and achieve financial stability and the transition from the cash community to the cashless community.

Therefore, the central bank strategy has proven that it has established, planned and made advanced steps towards the systematic application of banking reform.

Economy-news.net

Parliamentary shock from “smuggled money” and calls for a strong government to settle it

The deputy of Al-Fateh Alliance Fadel Jaber, Thursday, announced by the Supreme Council for Combating Corruption, described “shocking”, stressing the need for a strong government to resolve the corruption files.

Jaber said in a statement to the “information”, that “what the Anti-Corruption Council announced about the volume of the funds stolen and smuggled out of Iraq constitutes a great shock to the public opinion,” surprising from “not paying attention to it and not highlighting the light and caring for it.”

He added that “this dreadful amount is equivalent to the budgets of previous years, and a strong government must be formed to uncover the corrupt and hold them accountable and recover those enormous sums”, noting that “opening these files will end the existence of large political blocs, but it will stand against the formation of a strong government.”

Yesterday, Wednesday, the Supreme Council for Combating Corruption estimated the value of the funds stolen from IraqIt is equivalent to investment budgets approved since 2003 until now. Ended in / 25 pm

Almaalomah.com

The Kuwait Donors Conference humiliated Iraq and nothing was implemented from it despite the passage of two years

Information / private … Parliamentary Economy and Investment Committee, Thursday, promised Kuwait donors’ conference that it humiliated Iraq and insulted it externally and nothing was achieved on the ground despite the conference entering its second year, indicating that the donor countries insisted on the conference to implement projects and did not provide funds because they did not trust the Iraqi government.

Committee member Nada Shaker told Al-Maalouma that “the Kuwait Donors Conference was wrong since its inception and painted a humiliating image of Iraq in the countries of the world.”

She added that “all the promises that were made during the Kuwait Donors Conference were not fulfilled on the ground despite the entry of the second year of its contract.”
She explained that “the donor countries insisted on implementing projects for Iraq with grants and not providing funds for lack of confidence, but the Iraqi side did not like him the idea.”

The Kuwait Donors Conference was launched on February 2, 2018, to rebuild Iraq to provide international grants to Iraq and to contribute to rebuilding the infrastructure.

Almaalomah.com

BGG ~ Iraq’s endemic and blatant corruption is why Iraq is humiliated. They have done it to themselves. No one at this Kuwaiti conference could trusted that Iraqi leaders wouldn’t steal the assistance wholesale.

British mediation to implement the Erbil – Baghdad agreement and to resolve outstanding issues

Shafaaq News / Today, Wednesday, a meeting of the committees of energy, natural resources, industry and trade in the Parliament of Kurdistan, headed by Ali Hama Saleh, with Venti Anikat, official of the political delegation of the British Consul General in Erbil, with the aim of discussing the agreement between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government, regarding the budget and oil.

During the meeting, they talked about the Erbil and Baghdad agreement, the reform process in the matter of oil, and the status of the oil import fund.

The meeting also highlighted the security of the region’s budget by the federal government, and in return for the region to send (250) thousand barrels of oil per day.
And Ali Hama Saleh praised the British efforts in bringing the views between the region and the center in order to achieve this agreement in the general budget of Iraq for the year 2020.

At the end of the meeting, Annikat expressed his full support for each step that would bring the region and the center closer to the issue of budget and oil

Shafaaq.com

Saleh gives the political blocs until Friday evening, on the candidate of the Prime Minister

A well-informed source revealed, on Wednesday, that the President of the Republic, Barham Salih, gave the political blocs until Friday evening regarding the prime minister’s candidate.

The source said, “The President of the Republic, Barham Salih, gave the political blocs until Friday evening to present a non-controversial candidate for prime minister.”

“Otherwise, Saleh will assign an independent figure who will accept the street,” he added.
Yesterday, a source close to the President of the Republic denied agreeing to a candidate for prime

Albaghdadiyagroup.com

Al-Nassiri: We need a systematic movement for economic reform

Economy News – Baghdad: The Economic and Banking Adviser to the Association of Iraqi Private Banks, Samir al-Nasiri, demanded, on Sunday, that there should be a systemic movement to draw a road map for economic reform carried out by the elites and economic, financial and banking competencies of Iraq and that the economic movement is based on several important economic pillars that adopt a new philosophy to manage the economy and achieve the central goal of By creating sustainable development, achieving diversification of resources, developing economic and human structures in order to properly build the national economy and building the introductions to the transition to a social market economy.

He added in an interview with “Al-Iqtisad News”, “We need serious work for the economic transformation and to look to the future and the available capabilities and with a realistic and ambitious road map that depends on managing and distributing public money in a transparent and fair way, provided that the beneficiary in the results and outputs of the people and that the citizen feels that his national economy, resources and resources are dedicated to ensuring A decent life, as mentioned in the articles of the permanent Iraqi constitution, in a way that creates prosperity for society.

Al-Nusairi asserted, “The necessity of setting a new reform approach by our Iraqi experts and competencies, and it is okay to use the houses of solid international expertise, especially from countries that have successful experiences in economic construction in modern history, similar to us in some circumstances and problems, and can benefit from the experiences of Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and some Other countries that have adopted the social market economy system. ”

Al-Nusairi pointed out, “The possibility of defining the road map to achieve an approach to economic reform in Iraq according to several data, the most important of which is the formation of the Supreme Council for Economic Reform to legislate a law binding the ministries to implement its decisions and has the power to follow-up, monitor, and evaluate, and is headed by and members of a group of governmental experts and the private economic and technocrats.”

He pointed out, “The importance of developing policies and mechanisms to diversify the sources of financing the public budget and not relying on oil only,” noting that “the directions of reform require the transition to the central administration of the economy so that the principle of (centralization of planning and implementation decentralization) is implemented, and this means that the Supreme Council for Economic Reform takes charge of Plans, policies and distribution of their implementation to specialized councils for reconstruction, investment and implementation of development projects in the economic and human sphere. These councils are the Private Sector Council, the Construction Council, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, the Public Service Council and the Product Support and Protection Council Local, as well as the achievement of sustainable economic development and create and create an investment climate for local and foreign investors and motivate, encourage and ensure that contractual rights to attract their capital and protect them from the pressures of spoilers. ”

He said that “the axis of reform should include providing soft loans to finance small, medium and large projects and establishing a legal and institutional system for managing, developing and developing them, as well as issuing and amending the laws of the legal environment to regulate the economic process. This means issuing new laws instead of laws issued in 2004 by the American civil governor Notorious Paul Bremer. ”

Al-Nassery stressed on “the necessity of activating investment in the agricultural, industrial, energy, tourism, services and housing sectors, as well as working to reform, develop and develop the banking sector through monetary policy applications and regulating the relationship and restrictions that govern financial and monetary policies, as well as the serious approach to reforming the tax, financial and customs system.” Handling cases of failure to achieve the required growth rates in national income and exceeding the rise in unemployment and poverty rates. ”

Economy-news.net

Rudaw English (on Twitter)

“Iraqis will not accept a return to the situation seen before October 1 [when the protests began]. They deserve a better life and they have conveyed their message to Iraqi officials in the protests,” Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani tells #Davos #WEF2020 panel.

RudawEnglish

The President of the Republic will assign a “independent” Prime Minister ahead of Friday sermon

Baghdad / news: According to an informed political source, the President of the Republic, Barham Salih, will be appointed as an “independent” prime minister ahead of next Friday’s sermon.

The source told “Al-Ikhbaria” that “Saleh will assign an independent prime minister this week, before the Friday sermon, to meet the aspirations of the rising street.”

The source did not reveal the name of the candidate.

Ikhnews.com

Large numbers of demonstrators flock to the Habdoui Square in the center of Nasiriyah

Baghdad today – A security source from Dhi Qar Governorate reported, on Tuesday (January 28, 2020), that large numbers of demonstrators had arrived at Al-Haboubi Square, the place of the protesters in the center of Nasiriyah.

The source said in an interview with (Baghdad Today), that “large numbers have arrived at Al-Haboubi Square, the place of the protesters’ sit-in, to support the sit-in protesters in the square, in Nasiriyah.”

Dhi Qar Governorate, and a number of central and southern governorates, besides the capital Baghdad, are witnessing demonstrations and protests, since the beginning of October of last year until now, interspersed with road blockages, a strike on permits, demands for ministerial and constitutional reforms, and the selection of an independent candidate for prime minister in the transitional period , And to set a date for early elections under international supervision.

As a result of these protests, more than 600 martyrs and 25 thousand wounded, according to figures from the High Commission for Human Rights.

Baghdadtoday.news

Sixteen countries issue a joint statement on the demonstrations in Iraq

Baghdad today – Sixteen countries, Monday (January 27, 2020), issued a joint statement on the demonstrations in Iraq.

According to the statement, “the ambassadors of Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States condemned the excessive and lethal use of force by the Iraqi security forces and the factions Armed forces against peaceful demonstrators since January 24, including demonstrators in Baghdad, Nasiriyah and Basra, “according to the text of the statement.

“Despite the guarantees provided by the government, security forces and armed factions continue to use live ammunition in these locations, killing and wounding many civilians, while some protesters are subjected to intimidation and kidnapping,” according to the statement.

The ambassadors, according to the statement, directed “to call on the government to respect the freedoms of assembly and the right to peaceful protest as stipulated in the Iraqi constitution,” calling on “all demonstrators to preserve the peaceful nature of the protest movement.”

The ambassadors called on “the government to ensure that investigations and credible accountability are conducted with regard to more than 500 deaths and thousands of wounded protesters since October 1 (2019).”

The capital, Baghdad, and a number of central and southern governorates are witnessing demonstrations and protests, since the beginning of October last year until now, interspersed with clashes, which resulted in the death of more than 600 demonstrators, and the injury of more than 20,000 others, calling for ministerial and constitutional reforms, and the selection of an independent candidate To the Prime Minister in the transitional period, and to set a date for early elections, under international supervision.

Baghdadtoday.news