CBI officials to undergo an advanced training at the BIBF
(MENAFN) The Gulf Daily News reported that 16 high officials from Iraq Central Bank (CBI) are to start advanced training program organized by the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) in co-operation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Federal Reserve Bank of New York at the BIBF.
Deputy director and head of Banking Learning Centre said the BIBF was selected to host this important workshop due to Bahrain's excellent reputation as a leading world financial hub and the institute's ability to provide world-class training and business advisory services.
He added that the workshop will be focusing on the practical implementation in the field of banking supervision as well as review the actual work and outputs produced by the Iraqi supervisors in order to give them feedback and guidance on how to improve their scope and their quality, both for off-site and on-site supervision.
It is worth mentioning that the program is part of a series of successful workshops, which will further contribute to the training and education process of the Iraqi people. A similar workshop on banking supervision was conducted successfully at the BIBF in June 2004.
MENAFN - Middle East North Africa . Financial Network News: CBI officials to undergo an advanced training at the BIBF
Foreign banks in Iraq soon
The central bank of Iraq is considering licensing several foreign banks to operate within the country, mostly in the region of Kurdistan, Sinan Al Shabibi, the bank's governor, said yesterday.
"There have been some applications to operate in northern region of Kurdistan, but their eyes are on Baghdad eventually," Al Shabibi told Zawya Dow Jones in an interview.
Al Shabibi said that the bank is considering several Turkish and Lebanese banks, but declined to disclose the names of the banks.
The Iraqi government licensed six foreign banks in 2004, including the National Bank of Kuwait, Arab Banking Corp., HSBC and Standard Chartered.
However, only Arab Banking Corp. operates a fully-fledged branch in the country as the rest chose to enter Iraq via a local partner.
"Because of the security situation, most join forces with local banks. There are a lot of banks that have expressed their interest Iraq, but they are waiting for the right time," said Al Shabibi.
The country also has six state-owned banks, the biggest of which are Rafidain and al Rasheed.
Al Shabibi hopes that Iraq's banking sector will be strengthened as it opens up to foreign banks, as they bring capital, modern banking systems, technology and management.
The government is also pushing for 25 private banks to merge.
"Our idea is to have some kind of minimum capital for banks, at least 20 billion Iraqi dinars. Some of the very small banks which do not have the capacity will have to merge, otherwise they will have to raise the capital alone," he said.
The central bank wants private banks to participate more in the country's economic activities, and for the country to be less dependent on the Trade Bank of Iraq, which is financed by a consortium of foreign lenders such as Citigroup and JP Morgan. It provides financing services Iraqi banks are unable to offer.
"We would like the government's import activities to be more diversified. We want all banks to participate. This is our policy for the future. The Trade Bank is doing fine, but we don't want to have to be completely dependent on that," he said.
Al Shabibi said the central bank is currently succeeding in its fight against inflation.
"We are using the interest rate and we sell our own bills to skim liquidity. The inflation rate now is 51 per cent, down from 70 per cent previously. Whether it will continue to go down, we will have to see," he said.
MENAFN - Middle East North Africa . Financial Network News: Foreign banks in Iraq soon
Things that make you go Hmmmmmm
Quote:
Originally Posted by
phiberoptik
ok im officially scared...... i called the Video series inquiries number at the inf and got rolled over to the operator who in turn tranfered me to pubic relations ( mind you i'm not expecting them to be in the office yet ) i tried the ole " im a student doing a report line" heres how the call went.
PO: good morning.. really wasnt expecting someone to be in the office this morning.
IMFGuy: ya someone's here round the clock its always busy around here.
PO: i understand.. i'm doing a report for my polysci class and i wanted to ask someone some questions about the Art VIII and Iraq. is there someone whos brain i can pick or should i wait till office hours when theres more people around.
IMFGuy: pause's... sure but can you hold on a sec
Call placed on hold..
IMFGuy: you wouldnt happen to be part of a message board called ROLClub would you ( pronounced it roloclub)
PO: guilty pause..
IMFguy: i thought so .. didnt you say you were gonna call in a could of hours.
fibberopti ( pronouced it just like that ) what kinda name is that anyway ..
PO: its fiberoptic ( correct way to say it ) and its kinda a long story.
well since you seem to know who i am no sense in beating around the bush anymore im sure you know why i really called .. so how about it..
IMFGUY: we're not allowed to discuss senstive information or a non secure line. and besides im not the only one who reads that site. i dont want to lose my job..
Po: i understand thanks ne way .. Hangs up.
NOw i know you can read this whoever you were .. join the club be part of the team.. quit lurkin...
Hmm. Alot of people from the IMF are members or observers of rol club. This must mean that they are holding dinars and I am sure they know a heck of alot more then they can say and what we know. If the dinars were rubish then they would not know or be interested wouldn't you think?