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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Welcome to the Neno's Place!

Neno's Place Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality


Neno

I can be reached by phone or text 8am-7pm cst 972-768-9772 or, once joining the board I can be reached by a (PM) Private Message.

Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Many Topics Including The Oldest Dinar Community. Copyright © 2006-2020


    Political tensions and deteriorating security hamper giant financial institutions appetites who wish

    Rocky
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    • Post n°1

    Political tensions and deteriorating security hamper giant financial institutions appetites who wish Empty Political tensions and deteriorating security hamper giant financial institutions appetites who wish

    Post by Rocky Fri 26 Jul 2013, 3:37 am

    Political tensions and deteriorating security hamper giant financial institutions appetites who wish to register their presence in Iraq.

    Middle East Online

    'We see in Iraq preparing for the advancement of giant'

    Baghdad-Global banks, including Citibank and Standard Chartered desire to establish a footprint in Iraq but this desire often collides with several negative factors due to the countries political and security tensions as fighting continues.

    With tens of millions of potential customers, with only few having bank accounts, Iraq has become an ambitious target of banking institutions, particularly as Iraqis are currently looking for greater banking services than those presently available to them.

    However, outdated laws, with mostly Government-controlled banks, a weak infrastructure vulnerable in this sector, in addition to numerous other obstacles as political battles continue combined with day-by-day deteriorating security situations, make the banking business in the country risky with no guarantee on the possibility of substantive results.

    A Western diplomat says: “it is very likely that Iraq will be a rich market for banking.”

    He returned from Iraq and talked about the Iraqi market during the past few weeks after major banks began including ' Citibank ' and ' Standard Charter made their move in an attempt to consolidate their presence in Iraq.

    Mayank Malik, Director of Citibank in Jordan and Iraq said: We look to Iraq as the next major target market, adding we see in Iraq a giant that is ready for advancement.

    He said: 'We consider ourselves among the first candidates to enter the market and we want to have the top priority. THIS IS A COMPETITIVE STATEMENT AS SAID ON THE CALL THEY WANT TO BE RECOGNIZED AS TAKING THE RISK TO ENTER A VOLATILE MARKET AND WANT TO BE REWARDED FOR THAT AMBITIOUS MOVE. SEE NEXT PARAGRAPH à

    Citibank will be the first MAJOR BANK to provide s in the beginning to serve Iraq’s existing customers, those who are working within the energy companies operating in the oil-rich fields. NOW WE SEE WHOM THEY WILL CATER TO INITIALLY. THOSE WORKING IN THE OIL FIELDS ARE NOT 100% IRAQI THEY ARE U.S., GERMAN, FRENCH AND RUSSIAN WORKERS. THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO PUT THEIR MONEY IN THE BANK AS WE ALL DO. THE MONEY THEY USE IS U.S. DOLLARS – THINK OF THE SERVICES THAT WOULD EXIST AS THEY DO NOT EXIST WITH IRAQI BANKS, I.E. DIRECT DEPOSIT FOR EXAMPLE. THE IRAQI PEOPLE WILL BENEFIT LATER BUT THE REAL WINNERS ARE THE BANKS THAT GET IN FIRST TO SHOW THEIR CHUTZPAH!

    But, in the long term, multinational banks will seek to move into the commercial banking business and service sectors, although there has yet to be established timetables in place. Citibank has high hopes for the Iraq market as bank economists anticipate that Iraq will have a 50 million+ population and the economy will be worth about $ 2 trillion by 2050. HERE THEY ARE TELLING US THAT THERE ARE LONG TERM OUTLOOKS ON IRAQ’S MARKET POTENTIAL. THE SAME AS WHAT WE SEE, YET WE DON’T HAVE THE STATISTICAL DATA TO REALIZE THAT NOTHING HAPPENS OVERNIGHT AND THAT THE CHANGE IN VALUE WAS TO TAKE A PERIOD OF TIME, WHEN INITIALLY DEVISED. IT IS SIMILAR TO WHAT THE BANKS PROJECT; STAY PATIENT LIKE CITIBANK THEY ARE JUST LIKE US – GETTING IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR WITH ANTICIPITORY GAIN IN THE END.

    The $ 2 TRILLION represents 15 times current capacity of the economy today and roughly equivalent to the size of India's economy.

    With the development of the private sector there will be a requirement for full banking services but presently Iraqis only currently require limited opportunities in obtaining loans, insurance, credit cards, mortgages and other services.

    While there is optimism about the potential Banking sector in Iraq, there are fundamental obstacles to the development of this sector.

    Concurrently as Citibank decided to open an office in Iraq last month, "HSBC" announced it would be withdrawing from the local bank, "Dar es Salaam" where HSBC owns 70 percent of its shares.

    The spokesman for, HSBC said: At this point we cannot elaborate on the details about our decision to change direction and the timing."

    But diplomats and analysts have pointed to a number of difficulties including the lack of modern systems to give Iraqis confidence in the banking process.

    Iraqis who have bank accounts are not able to use the ATM or online bank services or even the ability to access their accounts from different branches of the same bank.

    Credit Cards issued bank customers have no merchants who accept or deal with it.

    A Western diplomat says that "Today conditions are not best suited to engage in individual banking services."

    Local companies often complain that local banks are unwilling to lend, or if they do they demand expensive and unacceptable assurances.

    World Bank estimates haveIraqi banking credit amounting to less than 10 percent of GDP in 2010.

    By comparison banking credit amounted to 55 percent in the rest of the Middle Eastern countries.

    Thamer Ghadban says chief advisers of the Prime Minister must avoid the accumulating cash within the government banks only but should utilize those deposits to lend so that it would contribute to the system of the private sector."

    Ghadhban added: Iraq requires better technology as well as reductions in processing times, we need increased staffing levels and there also needs to be change in the attitude towards customers.

    He explained, today bank employees do not provide customer service, on the contrary, adding they should make attempts to attract customers for the banks not push them out.

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