Iraqi Banks Struggle with Limited Services and Capital

[Bank Guy]

Reuters reports that it’s a tough road ahead for Iraqi private banks required to raise their capital to boost business as they battle against decades of state dominance to win a slice of the asset base from government-run enterprises.

It blames a poor credit culture, the lack of a modern banking system, and the dominance of state banks, for slowing development in the financial sector.

Many Iraqis remain do not have bank accounts, and there are concerns that most business in the country is done through direct cash dealings, which have security implications.

Economist Salam Smeism commented:

“We still have the remains of a central management which is still forcing government offices and ministries to deal with government banks exclusively, and consequently all the deposits are going into state banks.

“Where is the benefit in having the money go from the government to the government? We need to develop the private sector.”

Executive director of the Iraqi Private Banks League, Abdul-Aziz Hassoun, said Iraq nationalised its private banks in 1964, paving the way for dominance of the financial industry by the country’s state banks.

After the U.N. imposed economic sanctions in 1991, private banking once again opened up in Iraq. The OPEC country has seven state-owned banks, 23 private banks and eight Islamic private banks, according to the central bank website.

So our plan is how to support the private banks in all fields.” said Fadhil Nabi, the deputy finance minister.

In 2006 Iraq decided to revamp its financial system, particularly through a restructuring of Rafidain and Rashid, re-organising the central bank’s supervision department and developing the private sector.

Both the World Bank and the IMF agreed in 2009 to help advise and implement the plan although progress has been slow.

Rafidain bank has $28 billion in external and internal debts, while Rashid has debts of $1 billion. Most external debts were racked up by the government during Saddam’s time.

Part of the plan is a capital-raising scheme for private banks to boost capital for each institution to $213 million by June 2013, which is also expected to spur some consolidation within the sector.

However, industry officials say while raising capital will aid private banks, more needs to be done to modernise Iraq’s financial system to open up banking for private banks.

“Our banks are lagging other banks and they cannot deal with the international and world banks because we do not have a full electronic system,” Nabi said.

Only eight private banks offer ATM machine and credit card services. Interbank and international payments do not exist, a worry for foreign firms seeking to invest in Iraq and help with its reconstruction.

The central bank is working with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to create a single gateway for interbank and international payments.

“Imagine a foreign investor coming to Iraq and carrying money in a suitcase,” said Smeism. “We should have a developed banking system to ensure capital flow and movement operates in the same way as the rest of the world.”

(Source: Reuters)

[Nelg]

"It blames a poor credit culture, the lack of a modern banking system, and the dominance of state banks, for slowing development in the financial sector.

Many Iraqis remain do not have bank accounts, and there are concerns that most business in the country is done through direct cash dealings, which have security implications."

This is why the Iraqi people are getting ripped off by the shysters playing on their inexperience and ignorance. Maybe the people will learn quickly the ends and outs of at least having an account to protect their dinar.