MilitiaMan and KTFA Members Monday "Launch Means To Take Off" 11-5-18

11/5/2018
 
KTFA:

Samson:  Arab Monetary Fund: Cooperation with the Association of Iraqi private banks will be bigger in the future   LINK

MilitiaMan:  This article is possibly one of the most powerful indicators of just how close we are now to the completion of Iraq's monetary and economic reforms.

Key words that stirred my thinking are Private, as in Private Banks, Modern, as in Modern Financial Techniques, Inclusion, as in Financial Inclusion and Launch, as to go and reveal to the international environment or world and new Iraq and her new currency.

We are told that the AMF working with the likes of the World Bank, IMF, Germany, etc., have accomplished meetings and within those meetings we learned from WS that they tried and tested the REER to a basket of currencies last Monday, about a week has passed since then.. (Where have I heard that before? lol)  
....



​The article is telling us they have accomplished things and that they tell us that they were comprehensive in nature.

Well, financial inclusion, is very important to those entities.  Modernization is important to them and the Private Banks they are going to be doing business with in the reconstruction of Iraq. They will re quire Insurance Companies..

Launch means to take off.. As in they have set things in motion. That will require the new lower notes, imo.. That is imo where and how close we are. Below are items that support my view.. imo ~ MM

"While unifying the exchange rate is important, the authorities must also modernize the national currency for a currency reform to be comprehensive.

 In Turkmenistan, the modernization entailed issuing a new family of banknotes that were smaller in size than the unnecessarily large old banknotes.

In Turkmenistan, the modernization entailed issuing a new family of banknotes that were smaller in size than the unnecessarily large old banknotes.. "Private banks also play a key role in currency reform. But the banking sector may be weak or, in some cases, virtually nonexistent. In some parts of the world, informal funds transfer systems such as hawala and hundi are more vibrant or have nationwide networks that surpass those of banks. In such cases, collaboration between the central bank and these payment system operators is critical to the success of the reform. ~ FA (final Article) 81

"For the purpose of assigning decisions of the Central Bank and maintaining the recovery of the dinar requires the Iraqi banks and branches of Arab and foreign banks operating in Iraq to go to real banking and activate the financing of small and medium enterprises and provide modern electronic banking products and attract deposits and participate in the establishment of the insurance company deposits and the establishment of the national companies to finance large projects , Which contribute to commercial and Islamic banks and cooperation with the Central Bank in the implementation of its policy in support of the development of the banking sector in accordance with the directives of the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq last in the periodic meeting The last monthly of banking leaders and emphasis on the stability of the exchange rate and recovery of the Iraqi dinar. ~ FA (final Article)  87

"We worked to take advantage of oil to strengthen the economy and not only for the purpose of - spending, and we are working to benefit from the private sector and rely on small and medium-sized .enterprises to support the economy and not only large enterprises.~ FA 95

"Financial Inclusion, which means that individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs (such as transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance), is more important than ever before." 

https://scet.berkeley.edu/importance-financial-inclusion/

**************

GodLover:  I have felt the new full seated Government is required imo, which I think will likely wrap up completely well before end of year.

It had been stated that the second article would have the date & rate. I have always & still feel that the second article will show just prior to the new year imo. 
 
2Cents:  Basnews is reporting that there is now an "initial agreement" on the 8 remaining ministers between Mahdi and the political blocs and may be voted as early as tomorrow......there are other reports that it may not occur until Sunday........
 
**************

Samson:   SWIFT says suspending some Iranian banks’ access to messaging system

 5th November, 2018

SWIFT financial messaging service said on Monday it is suspending “certain Iranian banks” from accessing its messaging system

The Belgium-based SWIFT financial messaging service said on Monday it is suspending “certain Iranian banks” from accessing its messaging system in the interest of the stability and integrity of the global financial system.

In a brief statement, SWIFT made no mention of US sanctions coming back into effect on some Iranian financial institutions on Monday as part of US President Donald Trump’s effort to force Iran to curtail its nuclear, missile and regional activities.

The SWIFT statement said suspending the Iranian banks access to the messaging system was a “regrettable” step but was “taken in the interest of the stability and integrity of the wider global financial system.”

Having abandoned the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Trump is trying to cripple Iran’s oil-dependent economy and force Tehran to quash not only its nuclear ambitions and its ballistic missile program but its support for militant proxies in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East. SWIFT’s decision not to mention the resumption of US sanctions likely reflects the fact that it is caught between two contrary regulatory demands.

The US government has told SWIFT that it is expected to comply with US sanctions and it could face US sanctions if it fails to do so. On the other hand, SWIFT is barred from doing so under the European Union’s so-called blocking statute, which could subject it to European penalties for complying with US law.  LINK

Samson:  Exclusive: Venezuela seeks to repatriate $550 million of gold from Britain - sources

5th November, 2018

Venezuela is seeking to repatriate about $550 million in gold bars from the Bank of England because of fears it could be caught up in international sanctions on the country, two sources with direct knowledge of the effort told Reuters.

Venezuela’s hard currency holdings have dwindled as existing U.S. financial sanctions have effectively blocked President Nicolas Maduro’s government from borrowing on international markets.

The Trump administration on Thursday issued a new round of sanctions banning U.S. citizens from having dealings with anyone involved in “corrupt or deceptive” gold sales from Venezuela, as part of efforts to boost pressure on Maduro.

Maduro’s government is seeking to bring 14 tonnes of gold held in the Bank of England back to Venezuela, according to two public officials with direct knowledge of the operation, who asked not to be identified.

The Bank of England has sought to clarify what Venezuela wants to do with the gold, one of the officials said.

Venezuela’s central bank did not respond to a request for comment. The Bank of England declined to comment.

The plan has been held up for nearly two months due to difficulty in obtaining insurance for the shipment, needed to move a large gold cargo, one of the officials said. “They are still trying to find insurance coverage, because the costs are high,” the official said.

Venezuela is in its fifth year of recession with annual inflation at more than 400,000 percent, leading to increased incidence of hunger and disease and spurring an exodus of some 2 million citizens.

Maduro says his government is victim of an “economic war” led by the opposition and fueled by Washington’s sanctions. His critics blame the country’s state-led economic model, stringent exchange controls and nationalizations of private companies. Losing the gold would be a significant blow to the country’s finances. Lack of hard currency can create shortages of basic goods ranging from staple foods to drugs and automobile parts.

The amount is equivalent to five times the total hard currency that Venezuela has sold in 2018 via hard currency auctions that are carried out under the country’s 15-year-old exchange control system, according figures compiled by local consultancy Sintesis Financiera.

The government has promised to auction 2 billion euros in foreign exchange over an unspecified time frame, without saying where it plans to obtain those funds. But even if Venezuela manages to repatriate the gold, the new U.S. sanctions could make selling it to raise hard currency difficult. “If the government wants to carry out operations with the gold that it plans to bring, it would have to be done with allied countries because of the sanctions,” said Tamara Herrera, an economist with Sintesis Financiera.

Venezuela has been exporting gold to Turkey in the last year, a business that has grown as Maduro has built up ties with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.  Selling the gold directly from the Bank of England to a foreign buyer would be logistically easier than shipping it, but could also risk running foul of sanctions. Venezuela for decades stored gold that makes up its central bank reserves in foreign bank vaults, which is common among developing countries.

The country’s late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, citing the need for Venezuela to have physical control of central bank assets, in 2011 repatriated around 160 tonnes of gold from banks in the United States and Europe to the central bank in Caracas. But some of Venezuela’s gold remained in the Bank of England. Starting in 2014, Venezuela used this gold for “swap” operations in which global banks lent Venezuela several billion dollars with the gold as collateral.

Venezuelan central bank statistics show the central bank’s gold holdings by June this year had dropped to 160 tonnes from 364 tonnes in 2014, as some of the swap agreements expired without Venezuela returning the funds - leaving the gold in the hands of the banks. In 2017, such swap agreements became difficult due to U.S. sanctions, which blocked U.S. financial institutions from bankrolling any new financing operations.   LINK

Samson:  UAE stresses Iraq's participation in international conference

2018/11/5 20:02

The UAE stressed the need for Iraq to participate in an international conference to be held at that time. "Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali al-Hakim received the UAE ambassador to Baghdad, Hassan Ahmed al-Shehhi, and praised the historical relations between Iraq and the UAE, and the importance of consolidating them to serve the aspirations of the two brotherly peoples," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. To invest in the Iraqi economic sector, and contribute to the reconstruction of infrastructure. " 

Al-Hakim expressed the readiness of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry to provide all that contributes to the success of the work of the UAE diplomatic mission in Baghdad, for his part the UAE ambassador stressed "the depth of bilateral relations and the need to strengthen them to serve the interests of the two brotherly countries.

The ambassador called on Hakim to participate in the Sir Bani Yas forum on peace and global security. "Iraq's participation in this forum is important because of Iraq's great experience in this field."   LINK