Questions About Practices Of Private Iraqi Banks
Iraq's private banks rarely engage in traditional banking activities such as offering loans and credit and have lost the trust of the Iraqi people, writes Omar Al-Shaher.
Privately held Iraqi banks have almost entirely relinquished their traditional functions — such as giving out loans, lending credit and issuing letters of credit — due to default risks. Instead, they are resorting to profit making through participation in the currency auction regularly held by the Iraqi Central Bank.
Iraqi banks demand exaggerated guarantees for the granting of any loans to local investors, for fear of defaults on payments. According to banking experts, the value of some loans does not cover more than 40% of the guarantees the privately held banks are demanding, leading to a decrease in the number of loan operations conducted by these banks to a bare minimum.
