The Ministry of Finance specifies steps that must be taken before canceling the currency selling window in Iraq , 21 APRIL

  The Ministry of Finance specifies steps that must be taken before canceling the currency selling window in Iraq

4/20/2024

The Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed, on Saturday, that the Central Bank of Iraq had taken a decision to cancel the currency sale window, indicating the necessity of taking steps prior to implementing this decision.

Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Hussein Moanis, told Shafaq News Agency, “There is a decision issued by the Central Bank to cancel the window for buying and selling foreign currency in the year 2024, but it did not specify the exact time to start the decision.”

He explained that "canceling the currency selling window is linked to the reliance of private banks on correspondence with international banks and the method of currency conversion."

This comes after the Central Bank of Iraq gave up its status as a “correspondent” and granted it to several foreign banks, a step with unclear definitions and results, and some observers have warned against it.

In November 2023, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq, announced the start of importing dollars into the country through Iraqi bank accounts abroad.

Munis asserts that "this step must be preceded by an increase in the classification of Iraqi banks, and this is what qualifies them to deal with international banks, but the real problem that we face is that Iraqi banks do not have a correspondent and are not accredited outside the country."

The member of Parliamentary Finance pointed out that “the government and the Central Bank are seeking to strengthen and increase the classification of private banks,” indicating “an intention by the banks to engage in correspondence and external transfers.”   LINK