"AND THE MESSAGE SAYS... NO MORE PROGRAM RATE, NO MORE RESTRICTIONS!!! BY FRANK26, 18 SEPT

 KTFA

FRANK26: "AND THE MESSAGE SAYS... NO MORE PROGRAM RATE, NO MORE RESTRICTIONS!!!".....F26

 

"Our Country's Dream"... Al-Sudani Sends an "Important" Message to Gulf States Regarding the Path to Development

 

9/17/2024

 

 Baghdad
 

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stressed that the drop in oil prices to less than $72 confirms the need to diversify the Iraqi economy, while he addressed a message to the Gulf countries regarding the path to development.

Al-Sudani said during a televised interview followed by "Al-Eqtisad News", "The federal administration's budget allows it to pay $8 for every barrel of oil produced, while contracts signed with the Kurdistan Regional Government give companies $26. This stagnation has affected production from the region and led to a delay in the resumption of the pipeline."

Baghdad has been unable to agree on how much to pay international oil companies operating in the north of the country for their production.

"We have to look at how we balance these issues. Do we look at the budget to see what we can do or do we try to look at prices?" he added.

“Closing the pipeline, which can carry nearly half a million barrels per day of oil from Kurdistan to the Turkish coast, would cost billions of dollars in lost revenue. However, restarting it would pose a dilemma for Iraq, which has failed to comply with OPEC+ production limits amid dire financial needs but has repeatedly said it will compensate for overproduction,” he said.

Al-Sudani said, "We are committed to abiding by OPEC decisions and maintaining the oil price in a way that achieves a balance between the interests of users and producers."

Pipeline problems

Turkey halted the pipeline in March last year after an arbitration court ordered it to pay Iraq $1.5 billion in compensation for transporting oil through it without Baghdad’s consent. Ankara, which claimed the pipeline was shut for repairs after two massive earthquakes in February, said in October it was ready for operations and that it was up to Iraq to resume flows.

But financial and legal issues have emerged, such as compensating companies for costs. International companies have said they also want to settle their overdue receivables — including $1 billion for oil produced between September 2022 and March 2023.

With exports halted, companies have begun producing some crude and selling it domestically. Iraqi officials have previously said this production has caused problems with compliance with quotas set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Iraq’s production cap is set at 4 million barrels a day, but it produced 4.32 million barrels a day last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The country, along with some other OPEC+ members, will gradually lift those limits starting in December.

Al-Sudani is keen to “increase production in the long term after years of war and internal conflict that have affected Iraq’s oil industry. In August, BP signed a preliminary agreement to help boost production from the Kirkuk region. Iraq is also rehabilitating and modernizing damaged refineries to help reduce fuel imports.”

The Prime Minister continued, "Because of the wars and the blockade over the past four decades, Iraq has been late in exploiting the wealth we have of gas and oil properly. Now we are looking at how to exploit the new wealth we have and how to use it effectively."

Diversify the economy

But he said, "The drop in oil prices in London to around $72 a barrel - near their lowest levels since 2021 - underscores the need to diversify the economy."

Iraq is OPEC's largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia and derives the bulk of its revenues from exporting the commodity, and needs much higher prices to balance its budget.

The IMF has long said the country needs to develop its private sector, and that economic progress is being hampered by a huge public sector wage bill, with successive governments not doing enough to curb high wage increases.

Al-Sudani pointed out that "his administration is looking to invest about 40% of Iraq's oil revenues to boost the non-oil sector," adding that "the planned trade corridor extending from Basra Governorate in southern Iraq to Turkey and then to Europe was a 'dream' for his country, and he is looking to the Gulf states to help finance the project, which is supposed to cost $17 billion."

LINK

STATUS OF THE RV , PART. 1, MNT GOAT, 18 SEPT

STATUS OF THE RV

Yes, it’s all about the bass, I mean BANKS and no treble, I mean no TROUBLE. Lol, lol, lol. You should know by now I use musical songs to make my point and by analogy. It is a love story but not between people. Instead, a love of money and a money transformation in the banks from cash to electronic payment. It is all about the electronic payment and they told us this in many of today’s article again. A main Pillar of Financial Reform.

So, here we go again with a series of articles on the electronic payments and inclusion by the banks. The VERY GOOD part of today’s story is that they are now telling us they can see light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. No, they do not directly tell us this but you can read into the articles and understand the tone. I expect to read more of this in the coming month. Remember that the country of Iraq has only about 35-45 million people as it’s about the size of Texas. It is not huge like the US or other countries in Europe or Africa. In Iraq it often takes time to gain momentum on a country wide effort, especially when you are dealing with two major governments, Kurdistan and the Baghdad governments.  

No, the RV is not yet over. Sorry, all you intel gurus I have news for you. How many more unsubstantiated rumors must we hear from these idiots. I am talking mostly about this rumor of the newer lower denominations being now in circulation. How many time must we hear this without any proof? You know who I mean, TNT Tony and Bruce. Then a new idiot MarkZ. Yes, I finally researched this MarkZ idiot and he too is a major part of the problem. It’s all rumor driven news again. No one can seem to prove anything they are saying, even themselves.

😊I will have my normal Wednesday call to Iraq. I try to get together a list of questions for my CBI contact. What I want to know this week is something to gauge the electronic payment effort on. In other words when is enough? For example in today’s list of articles the Association of Private Banks announced today, Saturday and I quote – “that financial inclusion in Iraq increased by 48.5% during the current year, while confirming Iraq’s efforts to reach a rate of 60% in financial inclusion operations next year”. You can go read the entire article titled “BY 48.5%.. BANKS ASSOCIATION: FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN IRAQ HAS INCREASED”

So, is 60% their goal? Is this a measure of enough to pull the trigger on the next rate change and conduct the project to delete the zeros inside Iraq to get the process underway again? Do they mean “by next year” or “during next year”? I would suggest by the end of this year, meaning by next year (early 2025) if they are to reinstate at that time. What do you think?

😊How far is Iraq into this banking reform and electronic payment process? An interesting article in today’s new may give us some hints that they are much farther than we think. Please read the article titled “GOVERNOR OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF IRAQ: WE HAVE MADE GREAT STRIDES IN THE PROCESS OF REFORMING THE BANKING SECTOR” So what happened this past period? The Central Bank of Iraq participated in the Electronic Payments Conference towards Financial Stability in Iraq, which was held under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Iraq, Mr. Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, and organized by the Iraqi Private Banks Association, with the wide participation of parties concerned with electronic payment and the Iraqi banking sector. It’s these subtle kinds of articles that we should pay attention to. Who attending these conferences? Who sponsoring them and why? On this same note you might want to also read the article titled “AL-ALAQ: THE NUMBER OF DIGITAL BANKS IN IRAQ WILL BE GREATER THAN NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES”. This article will give you a perspective on what took place in the conference and were they intend to bring Iraq in the banking sector.

So, you can see there is necessity for clarity on many of these issues. What exactly is their goal and when is enough? But again, I have to be fare and add that at this point I believe it is all just a game anyway. The IQD should already be reinstated a decade ago and so why are we still waiting? What is this game being played? I am referencing Dr Shabibi’s 2012-2013 efforts again. Okay so the US Treasury is forcing Iraq down a path or revitalization of their economy first. This could make sense as we could see a higher rate when we go to exchange. But will we die first before this happens? How much is Iraq losing by not reinstating?

😊There is a good article in this regard you might want to read titled: “IT WILL TRANSFORM IRAQ INTO AN OPEN COUNTRY.” AL-SUDANI: THE PATH TO DEVELOPMENT NEEDS 5 YEARS TO COMPLETE” Didn’t they say this 5 years ago. Opps another 5 years…… Opps they said it again…But do they need the currency to complete this aggressive plan? Seems it's always five years away. Do you see this too?...TO BE CONTINUED

https://mntgoatnewsusa.com/latest-mnt-goat-newsletter/

Revolutionizing Iraq's Economy: 2024 Reforms Unveiled

"THE BANKING REFORM HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL FOR THE ECONOMIC REFORM... THIS IS THE REPORT" BY FRANK26, 18 SEPT

 KTFA

FRANK26: "THE BANKING REFORM HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL FOR THE ECONOMIC REFORM... THIS IS THE REPORT"...........F26

Al-Nusairi identifies the challenges facing Iraqi private banks and opportunities for banking reform

9/17/2024

 

Baghdad
 

 Iraqi private banks suffer from many challenges and work obstacles, and face wide crises and risks due to economic instability due to the challenges of instability in the financial and monetary system, shortcomings in the investment environment, and deficits in the balance of payments and trade balance.

Iraq has eight government banks, and the structure of the Iraqi private banking sector consists of 32 Islamic banks and 28 commercial banks. 

 

Advisor to the Iraqi Private Banks Association, Samir Al-Nusairi, told Al-Eqtisad News, "The number of private bank branches is about 500 branches inside and outside Iraq, and they have expanded and developed technically according to modern electronic banking systems."

Al-Nusairi pointed out that the private banking sector in Iraq faces operational challenges in addition to the above, most notably the US sanctions and restrictions imposed on 51% of the total private banking sector in Iraq and the prevention of 28 of them from using the US dollar in banking transactions, which affected their local and international activities and harmed the national economy.

He explained that the most important obstacles facing banks currently are technical, financial and administrative, especially in the procedures, instructions and decisions of digital transformation, which requires providing full support for this transformation process and using electronic payment tools in government, mixed and private institutions, and setting a time frame for the complete transition from the use of paper money to electronic payment.

He added that the private banking sector suffers from the differentiation between it and the government banking sector, as government banks account for 87% of total deposits and 78% of total assets, and it also suffers from weak activity and low liquidity, deposits, revenues and profitability in most banks, especially the 32 banks that have been subject to sanctions and restrictions, in addition to the decline in the shares of most banks in the trading market in the Iraq Stock Exchange.

 

Al-Nusairi added that private banks also suffer from double taxation, as the Tax Department in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, for example, imposes on the branches of private banks in the region (their number exceeds 70 branches) to pay the annual tax, while these banks, according to the current Federal Tax Authority Law, pay the same tax centrally in Baghdad.

 

Al-Nusairi stressed the necessity for the Iraqi Council of Ministers to resolve the issue in the region and put an end to double taxation, and for tax collection to be centralized according to the law and for the audited final accounts submitted to the General Tax Authority to be adopted as a basis for tax accounting.

 

The advisor to the Iraqi Private Banks Association called for "implementing the seven decisions issued on 4/4/2024 in implementation of the directives of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, which are related to supporting our private banks, which confirm the government's vision in its governmental program for financial and banking reform, as well as activating and accelerating the implementation of the agreements that were reached in the rounds of negotiations between the Central Bank and the US Treasury in Washington and Baghdad to lift US restrictions on the use of the US dollar."

 

He explained that "the Prime Minister's decisions supporting private banks outlined the executive procedures for comprehensive reform of the banking sector, which constitutes the basis and real beginning of the accomplished economic reform. These decisions included the following: 

1- Preventing monopoly in banking services.

2- Activating the Central Bank’s financing initiatives.

3- Increasing cooperation between private banks and the Central Bank in discussing decision-making related to supporting and developing banking work.

4- Determining the contribution of foreign capital to Iraqi banks.

5- Participation of government institutions and financing funds with private banks and expansion by opening branches in countries. 

Other.

6- Support from the government and the Central Bank to private banks in foreign institutions and banks.

7- Increasing reliance on private banks by the Iraqi state and activating the deposit of government deposits and government bank deposits with private banks.

 

Al-Nusairi stressed that implementing the decisions, which are practical applications to encourage private banks to develop their internal and external banking operations, will contribute to economic reform, pointing out “the importance of the Central Bank accelerating the procedures to rehabilitate and restructure these banks, as well as the necessity for the international auditing company to complete its agreed-upon work in order to lift the imposed restrictions and limitations.”

 

He concluded his speech by saying: "This file is certainly the focus of the government's interests, the Central Bank, the Iraqi Private Banks Association, and the banking sector in general."

LINK

EXCERPTS FROM IMPORTANT IIRAQ NEWS" BY CLARE & TISHWASH, 18 SEPT

 Clare 

 Article: "6 scenarios that the Iraqi Central Bank will work on, narrated by Al-Issawi "

  Quote:  "The economic expert stated that the Central Bank of Iraq is negotiating with the US Federal Reserve regarding ending the work of the electronic platform for foreign transfers and replacing it with direct banking relations between Iraqi banks.

tishwash  

Article:   "Al-Sudani: Iraq today is on the right path"  

Quotes:  "We have started establishing and implementing the development road project, which will transform Iraq into an open country.; "Many capitals want to invest in Iraq...Iraq is witnessing recovery and stability and everyone needs his return"; We have made real reforms in the tax and banking system. There is no spot on Iraqi territory outside the control of our security forces, and we have directed the preparation of a comprehensive plan to secure the path of development."; "Iraq today is on the right track".

Financial Inclusion in Iraq: Progress and Future Goals @DINARREVALUATION

DINAR REVALUATION REPORT: Financial Inclusion in Iraq: Current Landscape and Future Aims, 18 SEPT

 Financial Inclusion in Iraq: Current Landscape and Future Aims

Financial inclusion in Iraq has been a significant focus in recent years, with efforts aimed at enhancing access to financial services for both businesses and individuals, particularly those in vulnerable populations. As of September 17, 2024, the situation in Iraq presents a picture of progress and potential, yet challenges remain. 1  3  5

Current State of Financial Inclusion in Iraq

Low Uptake of Financial Services

Historically, Iraq has faced challenges with financial inclusion, with less than 20% of adults holding bank accounts with formal financial institutions as of 2021, according to the Global Findex Database. 1 This scenario is further complicated by the fact that less than 5% of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) use bank lending, limiting their growth prospects and the country's overall economic development.

Initiatives to Enhance Financial Inclusion

To address this gap, initiatives like the SheCan program by the World Food Programme (WFP) have been launched. SheCan is designed to bridge the financial inclusion gap for vulnerable populations, specifically targeting women and smallholder farmers.  2 By collaborating with local financial service providers, SheCan designs and implements gender-responsive lending products tailored to the unique needs of these groups.

Recent Surge in Financial Inclusion

Notably, Iraq has witnessed a significant surge in financial inclusion, with a reported increase of 48.5% in the current year, as announced by the Iraqi Private Banks League (IPBL). 3 The IPBL attributes this change to government-backed initiatives and aims to achieve a 60% financial inclusion rate by the next year.

Future Aims and Challenges

Aiming for 60% Financial Inclusion

The IPBL's target of achieving a 60% financial inclusion rate by the next year is ambitious but reflects the commitment of the Iraqi government and private sector to improve access to financial services. Efforts are being made to integrate financial literacy into school curricula and provide continuous training to develop the necessary infrastructure.  3

Economic Challenges and Opportunities

Despite these efforts, Iraq faces significant economic challenges, including dependence on oil revenues and vulnerabilities to oil price volatility. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has highlighted the need for fiscal adjustments and private sector development, including labor market reforms, financial sector modernization, and restructuring of state-owned banks. 5

Promotion of SMEs and Access to Finance

Recognizing the role of SMEs in job creation and economic growth, projects like the Promotion of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Iraq, supported by the International Labour Organization (ILO), aim to provide sustainable access to financial services for SMEs and startups, with a focus on youth and women.  6

G20 Financial Inclusion Indicators

The G20 Financial Inclusion Indicators Database offers additional insights into Iraq's financial landscape but does not provide specific figures as of the latest update. 4

Conclusion

Financial inclusion in Iraq is on the rise, driven by government and private sector initiatives, as well as support from international organizations. The country's efforts to improve access to financial services for individuals and MSMEs, particularly those in vulnerable populations, are crucial for economic growth and social well-being. However, significant challenges remain, necessitating further reforms and investment in infrastructure and education.