Shafaq News / The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) unveiled that the deposits in the banking sector surged to over 180 trillion dinars.

Speaking at the Iraqi Finance Expo, held in Baghdad from February 28 to March 1, in the sponsorship of the Finance Committee in the Iraqi Parliament and CBI, Deputy Governor Amar Hamad highlighted the bank's successful management of challenges, resulting in significant milestones in Iraq's financial sector.

Hamad stated, "CBI has responsibly faced all challenges and achieved its set goals in its law, primarily aimed at achieving stability in the general price level by reducing the inflation rate from 7% at the beginning of 2023 to 4% by the end of last year, activating various monetary policy tools, including issuing various financial instruments such as bank transfers and Islamic deposit certificates."

"These securities and Islamic Certificates of Deposit are considered investment opportunities for Islamic and commercial banks operating in Iraq, using various monetary policy tools, including raising the reserve ratio from 15% to 18%. All these tools aimed at managing surplus liquidity in the Iraqi economy," he added.

Hamad further mentioned, "There has been a noticeable growth in most monetary changes last year. For example, the volume of deposits in the banking sector increased from 129 trillion dinars last year to 131 trillion dinars, as well as an increase in private sector deposits in the banking system from 54 trillion dinars to 55 trillion dinars."

"The volume of credit in the banking sector increased from 60 trillion to 69 trillion dinars in 2023, and the completion rate for the private sector increased from 35 trillion dinars to 40 trillion dinars, in addition to the increase in foreign cash reserves from 140 trillion dinars to 148 trillion dinars."

Hamad emphasized, "Last year witnessed significant cooperation between the government and CBI, especially in enhancing confidence in the national currency through various decisions issued by the Cabinet and CBI. There is a noticeable decrease in the use of foreign currency in daily transactions, accompanied by an increase in reliance on the national currency in local transactions."

He continued, "Efforts led by CBI in collaboration with the government, especially regarding the use of electronic payment tools, have resulted in significant growth and development in Iraq. For example, POS terminals increased from 10,000 devices in 2023 to more than 20,000, and ATMs increased from 2,223 devices to about 3,000 devices. As for different cards, their number increased from 15 million cards to 18 million cards."

Moreover, Hamad noted that "last year witnessed significant discipline in external transfer operations, with a high response from all banks to facilitate foreign trade financing operations and various external transfers, especially after the issuance of external transfer regulations at the beginning of 2023. CBI also strengthened its banking relations with a large number of Arab and foreign financial and banking institutions to open wider channels to ensure smooth external transfers, especially using various channels for external transfers in currencies other than the US dollar."

"CBI seeks to strengthen banks by increasing their capital from 250 billion dinars to 400 billion dinars by the end of 2024. One of the most important projects launched by CBI last year and ongoing this year is the establishment of the Entrepreneurial Bank, which specializes in providing financing for small and medium-sized projects and preparing a national banking strategy. This aims at the importance of financial depth in the Iraqi economy and the role of financing in enhancing production and investment opportunities in Iraq."

Hamad stressed that "this also aims to enhance the role of non-bank financial institutions supporting financial and banking stability in Iraq by strengthening the role of the Deposit Guarantee Company, the Loan Guarantee Company, in addition to initiating the establishment of the National Company for Electronic Payment Systems. We believe this company will play a significant role in regulating electronic payment operations in Iraq."