Parliamentary Finance Refuses To Hold “Foreign Banks” Alone Responsible For The Collapse Of The Dinar
Economy |Baghdad Today – Baghdad Today, Thursday (October 19, 2023), member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mudar Al-Karawi, identified the impact of foreign banks in the collapse of the Iraqi dinar in the face of the rise in the dollar exchange rate.
Al-Karawi told “Baghdad Today” that “the opening of the headquarters of international banks, whether Arab or foreign, in Baghdad and the rest of the governorates
is a positive situation and it exists in all countries of the world, and it
comes within the framework of openness, attracting investments and
creating infrastructure in the world of finance to secure companies’ commitment and
receive their entitlements.” And transferring money, whether for investments or building new projects.”
He added, “The rise of the dollar and the decline in the value of the dinar have other dimensions and causes, some of which are internal and others external,” pointing out,
“The Finance Committee recently discussed with the management of the Central Bank its mechanisms for controlling the rhythm of the parallel market and limiting the rise of the dollar, and
there are a series of measures that will be adopted to overcome some of the negatives.” He stressed that “the dollar problem cannot be blamed on foreign banks, but rather applying a transparent road map to prevent its smuggling will have the most impact.”
He pointed out that "the Finance Committee has a comprehensive assessment of the monetary and financial situation in the country and is dealing with the challenges," pointing out that "changing some of the Central Bank's mechanisms with the issue of pumping the dollar will be a priority in the next stage."
The Ministerial Council for the Economy hosted, in its session last Monday, the Governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Alaq, who indicated that the dollar exchange rate “depends primarily on imports and
not on local production,” pointing out that “many factors affect the exchange rate, the most important of which is the leakage of the dollar to countries.”
Neighborhood and internal dealing in local markets using other than the national currency, as well as the lack of complete control over ports and smuggling.”
Al-Alaq also announced that “the Central Bank raised the interest rate for amounts deposited in banks to 7.5 percent to encourage citizens to deposit their amounts in banks and withdraw the cash mass from the banks.”
There are many measures that the government has taken in order to control the price of the dollar,
but day after day it proves its failure to control it, which reflects negatively on the lives of citizens today because it is closely linked to their trade and their ability to purchase consumer goods.
The exchange rates of the dollar against the dinar stabilized in Baghdad this evening, Thursday, with the closure of the Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya stock exchanges, recording 159,800 dinars for every 100 dollars, which are the same prices recorded this morning.
While prices rose slightly in Erbil with the closure, as the selling price reached 160,000 dinars for every 100 dollars, and the purchase price was 159,900 dinars for every 100 dollars.