CBI makes announcements at the 8th IFEX inauguration

INA-  Baghdad


The Central Bank confirmed that the amount of foreign reserves had increased to 148 trillion dinars and that the volume of deposits in the banking sector had increased to 131 trillion dinars, in addition to announcing the establishment of the National Company for Electronic Payment Systems on Wednesday. 

"Many challenges Iraq experienced last year and the Central Bank faced them with high responsibility," stated Ammar Khalaf, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, during his speech at the opening of the eighth annual exhibition and conference for finance and banking services in Iraq. The Iraqi News Agency (INA) correspondent was present. "As well as achieving the general level of prices through the low inflation rate, as since the beginning of 2023 the inflation rate has reached 7.5 percent and fell at the end of 2023 to 4 percent."

 
In addition to the rise in foreign reserves from 140 to 148 trillion dinars, he noted that "the past year witnessed a clear growth in most monetary changes, including the increase in the volume of deposits in the banking sector from 129 trillion in 2022 to 131 trillion in 2023."
 
 
"The Central Bank of Iraq's efforts in collaboration with the government, particularly in terms of increasing the use of electronic payment tools, as evidenced by the rise in Point of Sale (POS) devices from 10,000 in 2022 to over 20,000 in 2023 and the increase in ATMs from 2,223 in 2022 to roughly 3,000 in 2023," he went on.

"In contrast to the increased reliance on the national currency in local transactions, there is less use of foreign currency in daily transactions," he clarified.
 
In line with regional and global standards, he emphasized, "the Central Bank of Iraq focuses on the importance of enhancing compliance standards for all financial institutions."
 
"To open wider areas and ensure a high flow of external transfers, the Central Bank of Iraq was able to strengthen its banking relations with a large number of Arab and foreign financial and banking institutions," he continued.

He stated that "the establishment of Riyada Bank, which will be specialized in providing financing for small and medium enterprises, in addition to strengthening the role of the Deposit Insurance Company as well as the Loan Guarantee Company, in addition to starting the establishment of the National Company for Electronic Payment Systems, which it is hoped will have a major role in organizing electronic payment operations in Iraq," is one of the most important projects launched by the Central Bank last year and is still underway this year.