Baghdad – Mil
The Governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Alak, on Tuesday, confirmed the financial transformation and the stages of transition from a “window” to the “platform” and then to the correspondent banks, which is the first of its kind in Iraq, which is security and transparent and has received international praise, stressing that there are no new sanctions or changes with regard to Iraqi banks.
“The recent quarterly meetings with the US Federal Bank and the Treasury Department held in Dubai were very positive, as the steps taken by the Central Bank in improving the external transfer system and converting operations to international practices were safely, transparently and highly organized,” Al-Alak told the official agency.
Al-Alak added that “this transformation is the first of its kind in Iraq, which witnessed transitional stages from (window) to (the platform) and then to correspondent banks.”
“Today, there are 20 Iraqi banks practicing direct transfers with international correspondents in eight foreign currencies within the new regime,” he said.
Al-Alak explained that “other banks that are still outside this framework are now working to qualify them according to specific criteria, in cooperation with an international consulting company, to apply the necessary standards that qualify them to join external transfers.”
He stressed, “There are no new sanctions or changes, but on the contrary, there is praise and appreciation from international bodies, especially with regard to the mechanism of selling the dollar in cash.”
Al-Alak stressed “the need to focus on these successes to show a positive image of the transformations in the Iraqi banking sector, which reflects positively on the dealings of international financial institutions with Iraqi banks.”