Interim governor briefs Iraq's deputy parliament speaker on CBI's plan to control the forex market

Interim governor briefs Iraq's deputy parliament speaker on CBI's plan to control the forex market

2023-01-30 02:43

Shafaq News/ The Central Bank of Iraq's (CBI) new governor, Ali al-Allaq, on Monday briefed the deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Muhsen al-Mandalawi, about the plan his administration devised to control the forex market and curb the decline of the dinar's value.

According to a readout issued by his bureau, al-Mandalawi and al-Allaq met in Baghdad this morning and discussed the latter's plan to stabilize the forex market in Iraq.

Al-Mandalawi attached importance to committing to the legal framework of financial transactions and defending the Iraqi economy from repeating "previous violations".

The lawmaker said the bank must keep tabs on the work of banks and exchange companies to ensure they abide by international measures and deal with the violations whenever they exist.

Governor al-Allaq offered the parliament's deputy speaker an insight into the "financial and monitoring plan" to "control the dollar prices, prevent speculations, and detect suspicious forex transactions that aim to harm the national economy."

The dinar went into a tailspin against the dollar after the New York Federal Reserve imposed tighter controls on international dollar transactions by Iraqi commercial banks in November to halt the illegal siphoning of dollars to neighboring Iran and Syria, which are under tough U.S. sanctions.

Under the curbs that took effect this month, Iraqi banks must use an online platform to reveal their transaction details. But most private banks have not registered on the platform and resorted to informal black markets in Baghdad to buy dollars.

This has created dollar shortages as demand has outstripped supply and accelerated the dinar's descent against the greenback.

Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani replaced the central bank governor last week as he had not taken effective steps to tackle the consequences of the new Fed regulations and their impact on the dinar.

https://shafaq.com/en/Iraq-News/Interim-governor-briefs-Iraq-s-deputy-parliament-speaker-on-CBI-s-plan-to-control-the-forex-market