The Ledger
What the Central Bank refused
From January 2013 to February 2015 the Central Bank's committee turned down $24.6 billion of the banks' requests for dollars, 27% of what they asked for in 2013. The committee wrote down the reason for each refusal in its daily minutes. This page shows those reasons as read from the scanned minutes.
Year by year
| Year | Banks asked for | Committee refused | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | $270.2 million | $0.2 million | 0% |
| 2013 | $64.58 billion | $17.70 billion | 27% |
| 2014 | $40.94 billion | $5.97 billion | 15% |
| 2015(January to February) | $2.19 billion | $889.6 million | 41% |
Source: The Central Bank committee's daily minutes; rows that pass the arithmetic checks onlyTier A
The reasons the committee wrote down
A single refusal can carry more than one reason, so the amounts here add up to more than the total refused. 9.9% of the reasons cannot be read in the surviving scans.
- Held back for audit$8.08 billion
- Other reasons$5.33 billion
- Missing or faulty documents$3.46 billion
- No reason given, or unreadable$2.83 billion
- Penalty on, or suspension of, the bank$2.58 billion
- Bank's funds did not cover the request$1.66 billion
- The same customer at more than one bank$1.55 billion
- Withdrawn at the bank's request$1.27 billion
- Customer in breach of anti-money-laundering rules$1.06 billion
- Problem with the import licence$880.4 million
- Names or details do not match$849.5 million
- Company's activity does not match the goods$345 million
- Bank below the capital requirement$335.2 million
- The bank's whole request excluded$328.7 million
- Old or invalid invoice$322.6 million
- Timing or procedure$312.9 million
- Duplicate or reused invoice$200.1 million
- Ministry of Trade letter$59.6 million
- Licence issued in the Kurdistan Region$28.9 million
Every refusal, as read from the scanned minutes
Largest first. Company names are given as read from the scanned minutes. They are not accusations.
11 rows
The reasons were read from scanned pages of the Central Bank's minutes, the reading may contain errors, and the scanned page is the authority.
| Date | Bank | Refused | Of a request for | Reason | As read from the scanned minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 June 2014 | National Bank of Iraq (NBI) | $12.2 million | $23.8 million | The same customer at more than one bank; Ministry of Trade letter; Penalty on, or suspension of, the bank | ن النقد لتكرار ,6) اسماء من حصة المصرة بموجب كتاب وزارة التجارة واشركة العامة المعارض والخدمات /قسم الاستيراد المرقم 3320 في |
| undated | Cihan Bank for Islamic Investment & Finance | $9.7 million | $13.9 million | Problem with the import licence; Licence issued in the Kurdistan Region; Ministry of Trade letter | إوذلك انه اعمتنا وزارة التجارة ان اجازات الاستيراد الصادرة من اقليم كردستان غير معتمدة ماعدا الأجازات الصادرة من الشركة العامة للمعارض والخدمات التجارية العراقية |
| undated | Al-Bilad Islamic Bank for Investment & Finance | $8.5 million | $17.1 million | Problem with the import licence; Ministry of Trade letter; Missing or faulty documents | - تسلسل ,4) في كشف الحوالة لعم خم الجازة الحوالة لعدم ختم الاجازة من قبل وزارة التجار |
| undated | Kurdistan International Islamic Bank for Investment & Development | $7.3 million | $10.1 million | Problem with the import licence; Licence issued in the Kurdistan Region; Ministry of Trade letter | أوذلك انه اعلمئنا وزارة التجارة ان اجازات الاستّيراد لصادرة من اقليم كردستان غير معتمدة ماعد والخلمات التجارية المراقيكة العامة للمعارض |
| 2 June 2014 | National Bank of Iraq (NBI) | $6.9 million | $8.1 million | Ministry of Trade letter; Penalty on, or suspension of, the bank | ستبعد ت ,1و2و4) بموجب كتاب وزارة لتجارة والشركة العامة للمعارض والخدمات العراقية / قسم الأستيراد المرقم 3320 في |
| 3 June 2014 | Cihan Bank for Islamic Investment & Finance | $5 million | $10.1 million | Ministry of Trade letter; Penalty on, or suspension of, the bank | يستبعد ت !1) بموجب كتاب وزارة التجارة والشركة العامة للمعارض وللخدمات العراقيا قسم الاستيراد المرقم 3320 فى |
| 2 June 2014 | Cihan Bank for Islamic Investment & Finance | $4.5 million | $9.3 million | Ministry of Trade letter; Penalty on, or suspension of, the bank | ستبعدت !,!1) بموجب كتاب وزارة التجارة والشركة العامة للمعارض والخدمات العراقية إقسم الاستيراد المرقم 3320 في 2014/5/11 |
| undated | Sumer Commercial Bank | $2.4 million | $17.2 million | Problem with the import licence; Licence issued in the Kurdistan Region; Ministry of Trade letter | اوذلك انه اعلمتنا وزارة التجارة ان اجازات الاستيراد الصادرة من اقليم كردستان غير معتمدة ساعدا الاجازات الصادرة من الشركة العامة للمعارض والخدمات التجارية العراقية |
| 16 November 2013 | International Development Bank (IDB) | $2.3 million | $13.4 million | Problem with the import licence; Ministry of Trade letter | وزارة التجارة على الاجازرة |
| 2 June 2014 | Credit Libanais SAL | $0.6 million | $0.6 million | Problem with the import licence; Licence issued in the Kurdistan Region; Ministry of Trade letter; Penalty on, or suspension of, the bank | الكون الاجازة صادرة من اقليم كوردستان حسب كتاب وزارة التهارة والشركة العامة لمعارض والخدمات العراقية / قسم الاستيراد لمرقم 3320 في 2014/5/11 |
| 4 June 2014 | Credit Libanais SAL | $0.4 million | $0.4 million | Ministry of Trade letter; Penalty on, or suspension of, the bank | سب كتاب وزارة التجارة والشركة العاما معارض والخدمات /قسم الاستيراد المرق 3320 في 2014/5/11 |
Download:refusals.csv.xlsx
Company names in the Central Bank's notes are shown as read from the scanned minutes. They are not accusations. If a bank appears on this page, it means only that the committee refused part of its request on that day.