Iraqis do not trust their banks and bankers reveal the reasons!

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[size=52]Iraqis do not trust their banks and bankers reveal the reasons![/size]

[size=45]Blessed be Abdul Majeed[/size]
[size=45]Most Iraqis avoid depositing their money in state or even private banks, and prefer to collect it in home safes, as they consider leaving it inside their sleeping pillows safer than using bank safes.[/size]
[size=45]Employee Sahira Shaker (56 years old) said in an interview with Al Mada: “I thought the loan announced by the government would save my situation, and I would finally be able to build my house and get rid of the cost of rent, but I found that the loan had become a heavy burden that drained my monthly income, as I found myself borrowing.” To meet the needs of the household.[/size]
[size=45]She added, “She is repaying the loan she took from a government bank five years ago,” noting that “the interest rate is exaggerated, especially since the loans are supposed to be targeted to the underprivileged classes, but this has increased the burden on them.”[/size]
[size=45]For his part, citizen Adel Mohsen expresses his astonishment at the presence of individuals depositing their money safely in Iraqi banks, in light of the spread of corruption and exploitation that has become clear. He told Al Mada that he “does not trust all government and private banks, based on what he heard of the many problems that depositors are exposed to,” pointing out that he “suffices to store his money in his home with full confidence, by placing it under the bed or inside the wardrobe.”[/size]
[size=45]In addition, an official working in a private bank, Malak Rahman, said during an interview with (Al-Mada), that “some employees take advantage of the citizen’s limited knowledge and request amounts exceeding what is stipulated when opening a bank account, which range between (13-25) thousand dinars, and she spoke Also, when transferring money via external transfers, additional fees are imposed, and most customers pay without realizing it.”[/size]
[size=45]In turn, she alerted the customer to the need to “be smarter and pay attention to the amount of fees on the transfer paper, and he can file a complaint with the official at the bank or the main branch.”[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the other mechanisms used, Rahman explains, “There is a process of exploitation that takes place by withholding the citizen’s passport and withdrawing money through it, and the citizen is told that his passport is invalid, or when the customer comes to withdraw his money, he is informed that there are fees on it.”[/size]
[size=45]Malak found that “some employees manage their profession with transparency and credibility, as they monitor violations and report them to the Central Bank.” However, some of them, when violations are detected, blackmail banks, with amounts reaching 200 million, or receive lands as compensation in exchange for covering up the violations.”[/size]
[size=45]In this context, the economic expert, Ahmed Eid, points out that “the banking sector in Iraq suffers from distortions in its general structure, such as a lack of financing and weak cash deposits by citizens.” He attributes the reason why individuals avoid depositing to “the absence of facilities and offers that motivate citizens to place their money in government or private banks.”[/size]
[size=45]Abdel Aber (Al-Mada) confirms “the lack of confidence in the banking sector by citizens,” attributing this to “the financial policy followed by the Central Bank, especially after manipulation of exchange rates occurred and the inability of the monetary authority to confront the crisis.”[/size]
[size=45]He points out the presence of “banks and exchange offices that are under the control of some parties and influential parties, which places the Iraqi financial market and the general economic decision in the grip of those parties.”[/size]
[size=45]The economist added, “There is negligence and a lack of attention, while warning of the spread of bribery and bargaining by bank employees.” He pointed to the methods they use, such as “selling the dollar to travelers who pay the bribe directly, with the aim of facilitating the inclusion of their names on the dollar selling platform.”[/size]
[size=45]Eid held the Central Bank of Iraq fully responsible for not publishing the available offers and the absence of an awareness role among state departments and citizens, as he stressed the importance of education regarding bank deposits, especially after the government’s attempt to move towards an electronic payment system.[/size]
[size=45]Economic researcher Abdul Salam Hassan said in an interview with (Al Mada) that “most of the private banks belong to influential people or to those who have a relationship with them, and they are mostly owned by people outside the country,” pointing out that “there is smuggling and significant exploitation of depositors’ funds, causing losses to them.” This also happened in the Iraqi and Islamic Commercial Bank, where large corruption files were revealed by Hamdiya Al-Jaf during the past year.”[/size]
[size=45]He adds, “The interest rate requested by the banks is large and is accompanied by a number of observations,” noting that “an interest rate of 8 percent is imposed on whoever deposits his money, that is, 80 thousand for every 100 million, and a profit rate of up to 60 percent is taken when granting... Loans, and these ratios are considered an indication of the government’s lack of support for the private sector, contrary to its claims.”[/size]
[size=45]He continues, “Government banks, such as Al-Rafidain and Al-Rasheed, have many observations,” noting that “after amending the law, the interest rate became 30 percent.” He explains, “The problems that the Iraqi banking system suffers from are old and go back decades, and the banks have not kept pace with the progress taking place in the world.”[/size]
[size=45]Abdul Salam continues, “The successive political crises in the country, the nationalization of banks, and the seizure of depositors’ funds made Iraqis lose confidence in banks, which led to the storage of money in homes, and therefore the money deposited in banks does not exceed 15 percent of the size of the Iraqi monetary mass.”[/size]
[size=45]At the conclusion of his speech, he stressed “the importance of abolishing the tedious routine in banking institutions, which requires filling out complex forms and bringing a number of documents, in addition to the demand to bring a guarantor, a step he described as (illogical). He also called for the importance of preserving the confidentiality of customer information and not granting it except by a government decision.” Adding; “What happens in banks is giving direct information to any official or person with a government rank.”[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that the Iraqi citizen lost his confidence in the banking system in three stages: the period following the Gulf War in 1991, then the American invasion of the country in 2003, and finally in 2014 when the Islamic State took control of vast areas of Iraq, and the people of Mosul suffered greatly in withdrawing their money. Which had been deposited in banks before 2014, and their withdrawal now requires security approvals and permits, in addition to their return in installments to depositors.[/size]
[size=45]The US administration had previously imposed sanctions on some Iraqi banks because of their financial dealings with Iran, which led to the Central Bank seizing control of them and freezing their accounts.[/size]
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