The Governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Alaq, confirmed that communication between the Central Bank of Iraq, the US Treasury, and the US Federal Bank will continue. He also indicated that the three parties will hold a new meeting at the beginning of next month.
According to a statement by Al-Alaq, the Central Bank of Iraq engages in constant communication with the US Treasury Department and the US Federal Bank. This communication is ongoing, and quarterly meetings are held to review all related matters within the framework of this relationship. Additionally, Al-Alaq mentioned that a meeting is scheduled to take place soon.
During the upcoming quarterly meetings between the Central Bank, the Federal Bank, and the Ministry of Treasury, we will review all matters related to the regulation of external transfers. Our focus will be on ensuring the safety of the financial system, particularly after the implementation of the new external transfer system, which requires substantial coordination.
He said that the recent changes are significant and not just formal ones aimed at restructuring trade and external transactions on a solid foundation. He explained that the specific details related to this matter require coordination and cooperation between the Central Bank and other parties involved. He emphasized the importance of this collaboration in ensuring success.
It was noted that there are quarterly meetings in addition to emergency meetings or communications via telephone or video communication. The next meeting is scheduled to be held in Dubai.
According to him, the Federal Bank concurs with the Central Bank that they should be excluded from the operational aspects of external transfers, and should only be responsible for supervision and control. This is standard practice in central banks that do not carry out detailed operations or executive roles related to external transfers. Therefore, the Central Bank of Iraq and the Federal Bank have agreed to withdraw from these procedural processes. They have also developed a plan to shift the external transfer process from the electronic platform, which will be completed at the start of next year.
He suggested establishing a new relationship between Iraqi banks and internationally accredited correspondent banks. This would limit the process to these banks, and the Central Bank of Iraq and the US Federal Reserve would oversee the monitoring and supervision of the process. We have been working on finding a relationship between our Iraqi banks and correspondent banks for some time now.
