Iraqi Central Bank sets steps of compliance

The Central Bank of Iraq(CBI) reviewed several steps that it said included the standards of compliance with banks (compliance, anti-money laundering, risk) that aim to participate in the window of sale and purchase of foreign currency.

The Director of the Information Office of CBI, Acer Jabbar said in an interview with Arabs Today, that the subject of compliance is the cornerstone of entering the window of sale and purchase of foreign currency. "Accordingly, the bank must obtain a degree of success appropriate and convincing for CBI, regardless of other grades of the other criteria," he said. "If the required degree of compliance with the compliance standard for the central bank is not met, the bank can not be entered into the window and therefore compliance should be given high importance," he stated.

Jabbar stressed that banks that have not yet achieved the degree of success in the compliance standard are required to take the necessary measures to reach the level of success. If the bank failed to obtain that degree in a month, it will be stopped from entering the window until it is corrected," he indicated.

He stressed that the banks should continue to support and amend the procedures, policies and human resources of the compliance standard, to reach a high level of more than (65%) of the standard to ensure acceptance of the bank's classification and continuity of participation in the window in the next review (August 2017). 

Meanwhile, the director of the Association of Private Banks Ali Tariq Mustaf said, Tuesday, that Iraq has made significant progress in the field of money laundering and financing of armed groups.

Mustaf that Iraq has made significant progress over the last two years in the field of money laundering and the financing of terrorism through the issuance of a special law No. 39 of the year 2015. "This law has significantly organized the transfer of funds and combating money laundering, as well as by the attention of CBI after the establishment of a separate private office," he said.

He pointed out that CBI launched a program to finance small and medium enterprises after the allocation of one trillion Iraqi dinars to private banks.