I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED HOW KUWAIT R.V.D, SO HERE IS A NEWS POST FROMMARCH 25,1991 ON HOW THEY DID IT !!!!(With no Electricity, No money transfer, and no phones !!!!)

No Electricity but Kuwait Reopens Its Banks

By DONATELLA LORCH, Special to The New York Times
Published: March 25, 1991


It still has no water and little electricity or food, but Kuwait revived its banking system today, introducing a new currency.

Banks reopened for the first time since Iraqi occupation forces shut them down in December. Thousands of people lined up to exchange their old Kuwaiti dinars for crisp new ones and to withdraw a limited amount of money.

Without electricity, the banks services were slow, limited to money exchange and withdrawal. There was no telex, no electronic money transfer and no telephones. The computers were unusable, so all transactions had to be entered by hand.

"It's like going back 20 years," said Mohammed al-Yahya, the manager of the Commercial Bank of Kuwait, the nation's second-largest bank. Seized Dinars Canceled

The Central Bank is canceling the value of Kuwaiti dinars that were seized from the Central Bank and put into circulation by the Iraqis. The invalid serial numbers were posted today in front of all banks in the city.

All other old dinars can be exchanged for new ones on a one-to-one rate until May 7, when the old dinars become invalid. The new official exchange rate is 3.47 American dollars for one new Kuwaiti dinar.

Although it is severly handicapped without electricity, the Commercial Bank, like many other major banks, was able to open for business because its records had been saved from the Iraqis. Mr. Yahya hid the bank's balance sheets in his home and sent its computer records to London via Syria with an Indian employee, who packed the tapes into the back of a trailer.

The banks also face serious personnel shortages. Only 11 of the Commercial Bank's 35 branches opened today, with 137 out of 1,300 workers.

Before the Iraqi invasion, only 17 percent of the bank's staff was Kuwaiti. Many of the foreign workers -- Jordanians, Palestinians and Indians -- fled and now cannot re-enter the country.

For those exchanging money today, there was little they could buy in Kuwait. Many of those in line said they planned to use their money for vacations or for shopping trips to Saudi Arabia to buy generators and food.

"I need to get away from this pressure," said Abdul Mohammed Hussein, a computer engineer in his early 40's who said he was withdrawing 1,500 new dinars to take a vacation in the United Arab Emirates. "Everywhere you go you find lines. At the supermarket, you find lines. To get petrol for the car, you find lines."

Abdul Hamed al-Atar, a 50-year-old retired Interior Ministry official, said this was the first time he had set foot in a bank since September, and he seemed relieved. "Kuwaits always keep a lot of cash with them," he said as he was handed crisp new piles of money that he stuffed into a small bag. "It's a comfort to have money in my hands."


http://www.nytimes.c...-its-banks.html

I saw this article a few days ago and find it very interesting as well. It certainly shows an RV is possible without a lot of fanfare or even basic infrastructure. I will caution you that the primary difference is there was a disruption of banking and currency operations for just a few months until our brave coalition liberated Kuwait. I think the cultural aspects surrounding the Iraqi RV and the relative lack of sophistication amongst the citizenry add unique challenges.

Yes the Kuwaiti Dinar crashed as a result of the 1990 Iraqi invasion, but this ONLY applies to notes in circulation at that time. After the Kuwaiti Government was restored, they issued a new series of banknotes with the same US Dollar exchange rate that the Kuwaiti Dinar had been fixed at before the war. Kuwaitis with old notes had to hand them in to be swapped for the new money. When the notes were being handed in, they were checked against the known serial numbers of notes in stockpiles at the Central Bank of Kuwait which had been stolen during the Iraqi occupation.

Stolen notes would not be exchanged - point blank. Other notes could only be exchanged by Kuwaiti residents during a very short period of time, after which all previous banknote issues were declared worthless. And in this case worthless means WORTHLESS. Current 20 Kuwaiti Dinar notes have a face value of about 75.00USD at the exchange booth. Older ones sell on ebay for about 10.00USD to collectors - and that's for one without any folds.

The underlined explains it was just a RI (re-instatement of previous value)! So everyone please quite using the phrase "just like when Kuwait RV'd"

CJ

Thanks for that.

Thank you CaptnJerry!!!! At least SOME people out there understand the difference.

Yes there is a difference,

But if the IQD is RV'd or RI's if you want to call it that, back to Pre US invasion rate of $3.22. I would not mind one bit. It works for me.

Meeeeee three.... (get it)...

Sorry, just needed a little humor here today!!

A blast from the past

Thanks for the bump, Ponee.  It just shows you how much confusion there was back then about revaluation and redenomination. And no, the dinar wasn't worth $3.22 prior to the invasion.  It was only given that valuation because of Saddam's decree.  The market rate was 3/100 of a penny back in 1995, which was eight years before the invasion.  That's because of Saddam's reckless management of the country, spending their reserves in the war with Iraq and printing the dinar into oblivion.  You can't RV that away.  All you can do is reprint or redenominate to a new exchange rate and start over.

Friday, November 16, 1990
1 US Dollar = 129.780 Iraqi Dinar
1 Iraqi Dinar (IQD) = 0.007705 US Dollar (USD)
Interbank rate +/- 0%
This means:
You buy 1 US Dollar :     129.780 Iraqi Dinar
You sell 1 US Dollar :     129.700 Iraqi Dinar
[size=undefined][size=undefined]You buy 1 Iraqi Dinar :     0.007710 US Dollar[/size][/size]
[size=undefined][size=undefined]You sell 1 Iraqi Dinar :     0.007705 US Dollar[/size][/size]
Learn about the new Iraqi Dinar
Median price = 129.700 / 129.780 (bid/ask)
Minimum price = 129.000 / 129.060
Maximum price = 130.000 / 130.100
75% of the prices were above 129.350 / 129.450 and below 129.850 / 129.920

This is 1996, 1997 it went to 1200 per 1 usd .  

Saturday, November 16, 1996 1 US Dollar = 111.100 Iraqi Dinar 1 Iraqi Dinar (IQD) = 0.009001 US Dollar (USD) Interbank rate +/- 0% This means: You buy 1 US Dollar :     111.100 Iraqi Dinar You sell 1 US Dollar :     111.050 Iraqi Dinar [size=undefined][size=undefined]You buy 1 Iraqi Dinar :     0.009005 US Dollar[/size][/size] [size=undefined][size=undefined]You sell 1 Iraqi Dinar :     0.009001 US Dollar[/size][/size] Learn about the new Iraqi Dinar Median price = 111.050 / 111.100 (bid/ask) Minimum price = 111.050 / 111.100 Maximum price = 111.050 / 111.100