Chairman Of The Finance Committee: The Integration Of Iraqi Banks Into The International System Is A National Necessity.

Banks  Economy News – Baghdad  Parliamentary Finance Committee Chairman Atwan Al-Atwani stressed on Wednesday that compliance with international standards and banks' integration into the international system is a national necessity to protect the financial system and a prerequisite for developing the banking environment.

During his speech at the second session of the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Conference, which was attended by Al-Eqtisad News, Al-Atwani said, "At the outset, I would like to express my welcome to the convening of this distinguished conference, which comes at a very important time, given the fundamental transformations and increasing challenges that the financial and banking sector is witnessing at the local, regional and international levels. 

These challenges require the highest levels of coordination and cooperation from all of us, legislative, executive and oversight institutions.

" He added, "International regulatory obligations imposed on financial institutions, particularly those related to combating money laundering and terrorist financing, have become among the most prominent requirements that affect the nature of the relationship between local banks and their global counterparts. 

Meeting these requirements is a prerequisite for developing a safe and stable banking environment capable of interacting positively with the global financial system."

He continued, "Iraq's engagement, represented by its national banks, in this international regulatory environment is not an option, but rather a national necessity to protect the financial system from cross-border risks and to ensure the continued flow of investments and capital, which directly contributes to supporting economic and social development efforts and enhancing confidence in the national economy."

In his speech, Al-Atwani noted, "Iraq has made significant strides in this direction over the past few years. The Iraqi banking system has witnessed major developments, including the modernization of the legal and regulatory structure, the issuance of compliance instructions, tightening oversight, and the development of qualified banking cadres capable of dealing with these changes."

He added, "We have witnessed the Central Bank of Iraq's commitment to adopting an approach to reform and development by imposing precise and updated instructions in line with international best practices, in addition to its relentless pursuit of enhancing transparency and strengthening the system for combating money laundering and terrorist financing." 

He continued, "Despite these commendable efforts, challenges remain, especially in light of growing regulatory complexities and the increasing requirements of correspondent banks, along with their precise and changing conditions.

Here, the need for the concerted efforts of all stakeholders, from banks, regulatory, legislative, and security bodies, to confront these challenges with high responsibility and professionalism is growing."

He noted in his remarks, "Hence the importance of this conference, which constitutes an important platform for exchanging expertise, reviewing the latest developments in international legislation, and highlighting the experiences of other countries in this field, particularly with regard to modern compliance techniques, best practices in internal control, and risk management."

He added, "We also affirm, from our position in the Parliamentary Finance Committee, our full support for all efforts aimed at developing the Iraqi banking sector, and our keenness to follow up on the legislation required to enhance Iraq's compliance with international standards, while emphasizing the need to balance strict compliance with achieving economic growth goals, supporting the private sector, and facilitating investment."   https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=55942