Baghdad – IA
The Iraqi Private Banks Association confirmed today, Monday, that Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani’s support for the procedures of the Central Bank of Iraq enabled the economy to advance with good growth rates.
The advisor to the Iraqi Private Banks Association, Samir Al-Nusairi, told the (INA): “The government has implemented, since assuming responsibility, procedures that have developed a detailed road map to address the loss of methodology and the previous dispersion in financial policies, the chaos in managing the economy, and the imbalance that occurred as a result of the lack of coordination between the two financial policies.” And cash.”
He added, “The map included diagnosing the deficiencies and developing solutions in coordination between the government and the central bank, accompanied by the bank reconsidering the tools and applications of monetary policy and focusing its plans on achieving priorities that are based on achieving financial and banking reform first.”
He continued, “These steps resulted in the issuance of joint reform decisions to enable the economy to advance to good growth rates confirmed by international organizations, especially the reports of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and their acknowledgment that the Iraqi economy in 2023 left fragility to a gradual recovery and achieved an inflation rate at an annual rate of 3.7%, which is lower.” Comparative rate of 7%, in January 2023.
He pointed out that “this rate is the lowest compared to inflation rates in Arab and regional countries for the same period, and this is one of the goals of monetary policy by reducing inflation and maintaining the general level of prices despite the fluctuation in the exchange rate, in addition to the expectation of achieving growth in output.” Non-oil GDP by 5%.
He stressed, “The procedures also included organizing the financing of foreign trade and moving banks to build trust relations with global correspondent banks and obtaining their approval to open accounts for our banks with them and allowing commercial and banking dealings with them directly and gradually leaving the electronic platform and introducing new foreign currencies into dealing for foreign trade purposes with them.” China, the Emirates, Turkey and India, in addition to the US dollar, which will help stabilize the exchange rate in the trading market.”
Al-Nusairi pointed out that “the measures were also supported by the serious approach of the government and the Central Bank to move and transform from the cash economy to the digital economy and focus on developing electronic payment systems and securing the infrastructure for that, establishing a national company for payment systems, reconsidering the structure of banking financing, and preparing to launch the national lending strategy and establishing Riyada Bank.” To finance small and medium enterprises and to reconsider the structural, regulatory and supervisory structure of the bank’s specialized departments.
He added, “The important and basic priority that the Central Bank is working on includes preparing to launch the financial inclusion strategy, as the number of accounts opened in banks has grown by 14%, to reach more than 10 million accounts, while the number of credit cards issued has reached more than 18 million cards.”
He pointed out that “all these reform measures were completed under difficult and complex circumstances during 2023, and with continuous communication, support, harmony, cooperation and support between the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, and the Governor of the Central Bank, Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, enabled the economy to recover, which confirms the entitlement of the Council of Ministers and the Central Bank to launch… They (the two economic institutions that have the lead in 2023) deserve their leadership, supervisory and executive role in seeking to achieve economic reform for the year 2023 as a first stage.”