Wadih Al-Handal, the head of the Iraqi Private Banks Association, confirmed on Friday (April 26, 2024) that Iraq is experiencing a clear targeting by preventing half of the banks from dealing in dollars. He referred to this as an economic “danger indicator.”
“The forum is being held in complex circumstances and geopolitical changes taking place in the region, and the Arab banking sector has begun to be affected, starting with the State of Iraq,” Al-Handal stated in his speech at the Arab Economic Security Forum in Beirut, which was organized by the Union of Arab Banks.
He continued, “Iraq is still facing major challenges at various economic levels, including the deprivation of the Iraqi private banking sector of the use of the dollar, which has exceeded half the number of banks operating inside the country, which is a very dangerous indicator, despite the efforts of Iraqi governmental and private institutions to comply with laws against money laundering and financing… Local and international terrorism.”
He explained, “For the first time, we are witnessing a clear targeting of the sector, which has begun to affect banking services within the country, undermine citizen confidence, and hinder the expansion of financial inclusion.” He also emphasized that “these challenges facing the banking sector reaffirm the role of the Union of Arab Banks.” He concluded by saying that “for the first time, we are witnessing a clear targeting of the sector.” Arab banks and international organizations play a significant role in coordinating positions and confronting risks together.
Al-Handal brought up that “this gathering addresses a chance for collaboration and settlement on a work guide for the future, as focusing on the Iraqi financial area won’t stop inside its nation, and may extend at any second to different nations considering the territorial unrest.”
He continued, “The Association of Private Banks is working with the Iraqi government, the Central Bank, and some local and international institutions to save the banking sector and return banks deprived of dealing in dollars to their activities, but this is not enough; rather, it requires continuing cooperation with the Arab and foreign banking sector, because the stage of integrating the sector The Iraqi banker with his Arab counterpart must begin quickly, and we are taking great steps in this direction, especially since Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani held dialogues
“The efforts of the Iraqi government and the Central Bank of Iraq to create deeper understandings with international banks, the Federal Reserve, and the US Treasury to expand the integration of the Iraqi banking sector into the global financial system, in addition to supporting the Iraqi dinar, which led to a gradual rise in its value,” Al-Handal said in his speech.
Bringing up that “Iraq is seeing an extraordinary improvement in the progress to electronic government and the reception of electronic installment, and this prompts the development of the computerized economy, particularly since there is a pattern inside the country to build the quantity of electronic banks, to stay up with mechanical turn of events and increment execution.”
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