Parliamentary Finance: We will reconsider interest rates on bank loans for three categories
Representative Mudar Al-Karawi, a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, announced on Monday that the committee plans to discuss revising interest rates for loans in three installments.
In an interview, Al-Karawi expressed that loans in all their forms play a crucial role in stimulating the economy and creating employment opportunities, particularly in the private sector. This is because most loans facilitate the establishment of various forms of private sector opportunities.
“He stated that loans given to retirees, people with limited income, and others should be treated differently in terms of reducing interest rates as much as possible. This is because the interest they currently bear is a significant financial burden that affects thousands of families.”
During a recent meeting, he mentioned that his committee would collaborate with relevant authorities to explore the option of re-evaluating the financial benefits offered to retirees. The goal is to provide greater flexibility and reduce the benefits on loans granted to them. The committee aims to develop a new vision that takes into account the needs of retirees and helps them manage their finances more effectively.
Iraqi banks offer financial loans in various forms, but the high interest rates burden many people.
Inflation...political stability... balance of payment...national debt...recession - each of these seven categories helps determine the currency rate of any country...We want to wish each of you a happy holiday..
Article: "Iraq links Baghdad US embassy attackers to security services"
The attacks against US forces have continued. The Iraqi government said several people who are alleged to have attacked the US embassy in Iraq last week have links to the country security services...
Article: "Iraqi council elections: Almost 17 million voters head to polls on Monday"
Iraqis have begun voting for the first time in a decade to select new provincial council members who in turn will appoint governors...results are expected to be announced on Tuesday.
Iraq cuts oil production by 223,000 barrels per day voluntarily. Iraq is over 90% dependent on oil revenue and oil prices, therefore when OPEC speaks we listen and we listen very carefully, almost as carefully as when the CBI makes and announcement.
Article: "CIA warns Baghdad of serious consequences if attacks against US personnel continue"Since October 17th the US presence in Syria and Iraq has been under constant threat.
[We] tried to ignore this news however, that is not possible Article: "Iraqi PM places security forces under investigation over US embassy attack" Iraq is doing what they can, but have not been able to stop the attacks against American Forces in Iraq. Article: "Iran-backed militia vows more attacks after US Embassy in Iraq comes under fire" When you attack the embassy of another country, this is far more serious.
The Central Bank of Iraq confirmed some Iraqi banks are transferring dollars from their accounts to intermediary banks who are distributing the dollars to their customers. The Central Bank of Iraq said this will contribute to reducing the exchange rate of the parallel dollar...[We're] thinking this is to keep the black market intact. This means the decision to only use Iraqi dinar in all transactions beginning January 1, 2024 may cause concerns and the Central Bank of Iraq is making moves to control any possible issues.
Article: "Inflation rate in Iraq declines in 2023 compared to 2022"
The Central Bank of Iraq announced the inflation rate decreased in 2023 compared to 2022. Inflation in Iraq reached approximately 3.7% in August 2023, compared to 4.4% in August 2022. Iraq's inflation rate is good compared to many countries where inflation has reached 30% and 40%...
Wealthy Iraqis move to the Caribbean. Guess who's on the list? ...The leader of the Kurdistan region and the former governor of the Central Bank of Iraq and other businessmen suspected of corruption...Iraq's politician are monitored by the organized Crime and Corruption Report Project (OCCRP)...This is part of the effort to catch
individual involved in corruption.... The project reported the purchase of Dominica (tiny Caribbean island) citizenship...enabling them to travel worldwide without a Visa...This country's visa is magical. Citizens can travel to 144 countries without a visa..
The country has no tax on foreign income, capital gains, inheritance, stock profits, wealth or gifts...The former Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Mustafa Ghaleb Makhif, obtained Dominica citizenship in 2017 along with his wife and two children and did not renounce it upon his appointment as governor of the CBI which was clear violation of article 18 paragraph 4 of the Iraqi Constitution. He held the position of governor of the Central Bank of Iraq from September 2020 until his removal by the current prime minister on January 23, 2023.. .
There are corruption questions...a legal complaint... has been filed due to the loss and depletion of millions of dollars regarding forged import documents.
The reason countries have foreign reserves is to make sure that a country has backup funds if its national currency rapidly devalues or becomes entirely worthless. It's common practice for central banks of different countries around the world to hold large amounts of reserves of foreign exchange. Most of these reserves are held in US dollars since it is the most traded currency in the world...
The amount of monies a country holds in its reserves has a lot to do with the county's currency rate...Iraq has the largest foreign currency reserves in its' history.
The reason countries have foreign reserves is to make sure that a country has backup funds if its national currency rapidly devalues or becomes entirely worthless. It's common practice for central banks of different countries around the world to hold large amounts of reserves of foreign exchange. Most of these reserves are held in US dollars since it is the most traded currency in the world...
The amount of monies a country holds in its reserves has a lot to do with the county's currency rate...Iraq has the largest foreign currency reserves in its' history...
Article: " Good News for Investors: US Treasury Continues to Omit Vietnam Currency Off Currency Manipulator's List"
Vietnam was not included on the US Treasury Department currency manipulators list this time. The list comes out twice a year and includes countries that may have surpassed the value of their currency. When a country does this it cheats investors on potential profits...Iraq is rebuilding after the war so is not yet subject to currency manipulation lists...
On Wednesday the Prime Minister of Iraq's advisor took the lead from the Central Bank of Iraq and announced Iraq has the largest foreign currency reserves in its' history and that the exchange rate treatment package aims to prevent profiteering at the expense of the economy...
Article: "Inflation rate in Iraq declines in 2023 compared to 2022"
The Central Bank of Iraq announced the inflation rate decreased in 2023 compared to 2022. Inflation in Iraq reached approximately 3.7% in August 2023, compared to 4.4% in August 2022. Iraq's inflation rate is good compared to many countries where inflation has reached 30% and 40%...
Wealthy Iraqis move to the Caribbean. Guess who's on the list? ...The leader of the Kurdistan region and the former governor of the Central Bank of Iraq and other businessmen suspected of corruption...Iraq's politician are monitored by the organized Crime and Corruption Report Project (OCCRP)...This is part of the effort to catch
individual involved in corruption....The project reported the purchase of Dominica (tiny Caribbean island) citizenship...enabling them to travel worldwide without a Visa...This country's visa is magical. Citizens can travel to 144 countries without a visa..
The country has no tax on foreign income, capital gains, inheritance, stock profits, wealth or gifts...The former Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Mustafa Ghaleb Makhif, obtained Dominica citizenship in 2017 along with his wife and two children and did not renounce it upon his appointment as governor of the CBI which was clear violation of article 18 paragraph 4 of the Iraqi Constitution. He held the position of governor of the Central Bank of Iraq from September 2020 until his removal by the current prime minister on January 23, 2023...
There are corruption questions...a legal complaint... has been filed due to the loss and depletion of millions of dollars regarding forged import documents.
The reason countries have foreign reserves is to make sure that a country has backup funds if its national currency rapidly devalues or becomes entirely worthless. It's common practice for central banks of different countries around the world to hold large amounts of reserves of foreign exchange. Most of these reserves are held in US dollars since it is the most traded currency in the world... The amount of monies a country holds in its reserves has a lot to do with the county's currency rate...Iraq has the largest foreign currency reserves in its' history.
The reason countries have foreign reserves is to make sure that a country has backup funds if its national currency rapidly devalues or becomes entirely worthless. It's common practice for central banks of different countries around the world to hold large amounts of reserves of foreign exchange. Most of these reserves are held in US dollars since it is the most traded currency in the world...
The amount of monies a country holds in its reserves has a lot to do with the county's currency rate...Iraq has the largest foreign currency reserves in its' history...
Article: "Good News for Investors: US Treasury Continues to Omit Vietnam Currency Off Currency Manipulator's List"
Vietnam was not included on the US Treasury Department currency manipulators list this time. The list comes out twice a year and includes countries that may have surpassed the value of their currency. When a country does this it cheats investors on potential profits...Iraq is rebuilding after the war so is not yet subject to currency manipulation lists...
On Wednesday the Prime Minister of Iraq's advisor took the lead from the Central Bank of Iraq and announced Iraq has the largest foreign currency reserves in its' history and that the exchange rate treatment package aims to prevent profiteering at the expense of the economy...
... We can clearly see that Iraq is moving to the normalization of how to do business with other countries and moving out of the sanctioned way of doing business with the world. They are already doing INTERNATIONAL. It is happening right now...Folks, I can not emphasize enough just how good all this news is today. WOW, WOW WOW!
I asked [my CBI contact] what the next targeted steps were and I was told that the committee does not even know and were told just to standby and the CBI is going to try to “push” to continue as they are ready for the next step in the process. I was told the IMF is negotiating the new peg for the dinar but to remember it impacts all countries in this new peg not just Iraq.
I was told this is close to being completed and should be done this week ending. This lines us up for next week to begin the currency sway [swap ?] out, but they told me it is delayed until further notice.
So, at least we now have a timeline when they did plan it and still could do it based on what happens with the US bombing issue. My contact did reiterate that the process now is irreversible and must go forward. The US had already given assurances they would not back out if the CBI moved ahead. So all I can say is let’s sit tight and watch what does happen in the coming week.
...just recently Iraq now began broadcasting news in-country to the citizens that the dinar is an “issue of a homeland” in a real way...a patriotic video...is telling the people that the dinar is valuable and will revitalize the nation ...It DOES NOT say the dinar is going to be stronger than the dollar, but it does tell the citizens they should be very proud of their national currency and that it is very valuable. Valuable at 1/6 of a penny? ...something BIG is about to happen with the dinar...
As you know I try to talk to my Iraqi CBI contact each week on Wednesdays and sometimes also on Saturdays. My contact is a very god friend that I met when I was stationed in Iraq during the occupation timeframe. I trust what my contact says to me. Besides we are getting information first hand from an actual citizen living, working and experiencing everything happening in Iraq without bias or propaganda.
We began our conversation with talk about the disputes going on with the US forces and all the bombings. This is important I was told. Who is conducting the bombings and does the US forces have a right to protect themselves? It was confirmed to me that this is all a movement to rid Iraq once again of US forces. There is lots of propaganda being told to the people about this to get pressure on the government to rid them of the US.
Remember too, the Iranian militia has remained in Iraq post ISIS war. That was over 16 years already since the war ended (2007) and so many look at them now as Arabic, Moslum brothers compared to the western armed forces, at least this is what many Iranian Shia think. Remember there are patriotic Shia and then there are Iranian Shia. This is the middle eastern culture. But even the citizens are afraid (mostly Sunni) of what will happen if the US forces do pull out entirely again. Who will fill the gap this time as there will be a gap and the Iraqi forces are not strong enough yet. It is like a double-edged sword. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. So many Iraqi people are confused.
This time, if the US does pull out, it is widely felt by the average citizen the Iranian Hezbollah militia forces and not ISIS the citizens will fear the most. They walk the streets in their uniforms with arms. They claim they are still here to protect the Iraqi people from ISIS. Really? But, my contact says this is just an excuse to occupy Iraq and a contradiction. Like the US forces, but there are even more Iranians, they too are occupiers. My contact does not understand why the US does not challenge them as occupiers too and put this issue on the table with the government.
Then we changed the subject and talked about the currency reform. I asked about the impact of the confrontations with the US over their military stationed in Iraq. I was told the situation it does impact the progress of the planned events for December as the committee was brought into a meeting with the leadership and told everything was now “on hold”. I know, I know I too was a bit shocked at the news and did not like it. But I know for a fact that January is the best and most opportune time to revalue and drastically change the program rate to an international rate on the global exchanges. But the program rate is already on a pseudo-float within the country.
I asked what the next targeted steps where and I was told that the committee does not even know and were told just to standby and the CBI is going to try to “push” to continue as they are ready for the next step in the process. I was told the IMF is negotiating the new peg for the dinar but to remember it impacts all countries in this new peg not just Iraq. I was told this is close to being completed an should be done this week ending. This lines us up for next week to begin the currency sway out, but they told me it is delayed until further notice. So, at least we now have a timeline when they did plan it and still could do it based on what happens with the US bombing issue. My contact did reiterate that the process now is irreversible” and must go forward. The US had already given assurances they would not back out if the CBI moved ahead. So all I can say is let’s sit tight and watch what does happen in the coming week.
Al-Sudani directs the formation of an Iraqi-Turkish committee and discusses an “equal deal” to achieve economic stability
Shafaq News/ An informed government source reported, on Sunday, that Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani directed the formation of a joint Iraqi-Turkish economic committee that includes several governmental parties and the private sector in the two countries, as well as the opening of a direct dialogue on the issue of the “equal deal.”
The source told Shafaq News Agency, “These Sudanese directives come in light of the positive developments witnessed in the US dollar exchange market in the interest of economic stability.”
He stated that the directive included “the formation of a joint Iraqi-Turkish committee representing market forces and Iraqi and Turkish economic organizations. It includes, on the Iraqi side, the Association of Iraqi Private Banks, the Iraqi-Turkish Business Council, the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce, the Iraqi Contractors Union, and their counterparts from the Turkish side.”
He added, “The committee meets semi-annually and submits its reports to the Prime Minister, in a way that serves the strategic partnership between the two neighboring countries.”
The source pointed out that the directive also included “opening a direct dialogue on the issue of (the equal deal) through direct negotiation with the Turkish Exporters Union and the Central Bank of Turkey in coordination with the Central Bank of Iraq due to the high desire of the Turkish party to pay in the local currency.”
He concluded by saying, “And also to finance part of the four baskets supporting prices (food, medicine, construction, and spare parts), which were proposed by the Prime Minister in his policy of defending price stability in Iraq.”
The exchange rates of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar have witnessed a gradual decline since the beginning of this month after the price of 100 dollars approached about 170 thousand Iraqi dinars during the past month, falling today, Sunday, to 150 thousand dinars for every 100 dollars.
Against this background, the Iraqi government believes that the decline in the price of the dollar came for several reasons, including “the high capabilities of Iraq’s currency reserves.”
Mazhar Muhammad Salih, the financial and economic advisor to Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani, told Shafaq News Agency, “Among the reasons for the decline in the dollar exchange rate in the parallel market is the high capacity of Iraq’s foreign currency reserves and the good management of foreign trade financing during the last period.”
Saleh stated that “the parallel market is gradually approaching the official central market, due to the presence of regular foreign trade by the private sector through the compliance platform and the great flexibility that banks have shown in dealing with this platform for the purpose of securing transfers.”
He added, “The openness to transfer through various methods, including payment cards in all their forms, importing foreign cash currency into Iraq, and financing foreign trade in various currencies, and not limiting this transaction to dollars only, led to a decrease in the dollar exchange rate in the parallel market as well.”
Mawazine News – Baghdad The Private Sector Department in the Ministry of Commerce organized, on Sunday, a “deliberative” meeting for a number of bank guarantee and project financing companies, private banks, and a number of sectoral ministries, organizations and unions of the Iraqi private sector to develop mechanisms for supporting medium, small and micro projects and the possibility of providing financial loans through banks. Civil and governmental institutions, as well as finding serious solutions to address the problems and obstacles facing the work of these projects.
The media of the Private Sector Department stated in a statement, “The meeting discussed in detail the mechanisms of support provided to small projects and overcoming the obstacle of guarantees that may be an obstacle” to granting these loans, including It preserves public money and contributes to providing possible facilities for the success of micro-projects.
According to the statement, Assistant Director General of the Private Sector Development Department, Muhammad Hanoun, pointed out, according to the statement, a number of recommendations that came out of the meeting, most notably the submission of a proposal by the Iraqi Company for Bank Guarantees to establish a guarantee fund managed by The company is funded by the Central Bank. He added, “The recommendations also included an agreement to continue holding meetings and to form a committee of banks and sectoral bodies concerned with supporting small projects, in addition to representatives from other banks and the Central Bank, and an agreement to establish a working mechanism for how to support small projects, which will be discussed by the members of the committee and submitted to higher authorities.” The Private Sector Development Department in the Ministry of Commerce had announced a platform (support) initiative for small and micro projects through coordination with the Central Bank of Iraq and a number of government banks, as well as holding workshops to train project owners to prepare an economic feasibility study for projects scheduled to be established in various fields of work as well. The department works to implement the national strategy for developing the private sector.
