On Saturday, a government source announced that the Central Bank of Iraq agreed with the US to provide a dollar advance to five Iraqi banks.
According to a statement from a source, there were a series of meetings in Abu Dhabi between a delegation from the Central Bank of Iraq and the American officials responsible for foreign transfer operations. The purpose of these meetings was to facilitate external transfers related to imports through the foreign currency sales window. The negotiations resulted in several decisions and mechanisms that will make the procedures for these transfers smoother and more accessible.
“We have decided to increase the advance balance of five Iraqi banks in their dollar accounts with Jordanian banks. The transfers will be made through JP Morgan. We have resolved the issues related to rejected transfers and agreed that any future rejections should be based on strong reasons,” he said.
During a recent announcement, he mentioned that there were several meetings with one of the Emirati banks, the Central Bank of Iraq, and the American side to discuss the implementation of a mechanism for enhancing balances in the Emirati dirham for Iraqi banks. He further stated that all technical details related to this mechanism have been resolved, and things are going well in this aspect. As a result, it is expected that the mechanism for enhancing balances in the UAE dirham will commence within the next few days.
The speaker emphasized that there are ongoing negotiations in their final stages to improve the financial standing of certain Iraqi banks in euros with UBAF Bank as part of a plan to finance trade with the European Union. The speaker also mentioned that the Singapore Development Bank is working to increase the number of banks whose balances in Chinese yuan are being enhanced.
“We have opened accounts for six Iraqi banks in our bank. In the near future, we will be adding seven more banks to finance Iraqi trade and imports from China. These imports are estimated to be worth about 12 billion dollars annually.”
According to a source, a number of Iraqi banks have opened bank accounts in Indian rupees through the Singapore Development Bank (New Delhi branch). Operations have been completed to enhance the balance of two of these banks as a first stage. This mechanism is expected to contribute to financing Iraq’s imports from India, particularly for medicines and foodstuffs which are valued at around $3 billion.
