On Saturday, Mustafa Hantoush, an economic researcher, described the actions of the Central Bank of Iraq and the US Federal Reserve as “annihilating” the Iraqi banking sector.
Hantoush told Jarida that not all financial institutions use devious methods, and many are respectable regardless of their category.
According to him, the Central Bank failed to establish a trading mechanism with Iran and Syria, prevent smuggling, and introduce new mechanisms. It also failed to change its financial policy due to the limited thinking of its management. As a result, it accused the banks in front of the US Federal Reserve, which in turn worked to eliminate the banking sector and reduce the demand for cash.
He emphasized that they used a mechanism that allowed for dollar smuggling due to the existence of a profitable parallel market. As a result, they resorted to seeking quick profits.
The speaker highlighted that the Central Bank has started removing mechanisms from the parallel market to prevent the dollar from reaching the citizens. Additionally, the bank has decided to discontinue Western Union, MoneyGram, Zain Cash, and almost all other services, which has had a devastating impact on the banking sector.
He explained that the lack of knowledge about regulating trade with Iran and Syria, opening accounts at TBI for small merchants, and stopping smuggling caused all of this.
