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 they were written.
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- Withdrawn at the bank's request$1.27 billion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 written
Largest first. Company names are given as the committee wrote them. They are not accusations.
479 rows
| Date | Bank | Refused | Of a request for | Reason | The committee's words |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| undated | $174 million | $242.7 million | No reason given, or unreadable | ||
| 19 November 2013 | Al-Bilad Islamic Bank for Investment & Finance | $29.8 million | $29.8 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 4 February 2014 | International Development Bank (IDB) | $29.5 million | $29.5 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | Al-Bilad Islamic Bank for Investment & Finance | $28.3 million | $28.3 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 25 November 2013 | Rasheed Bank | $23.7 million | $103.4 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 10 September 2013 | Region Trade Bank (RTB, formerly Emerald Bank) | $20 million | $20 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 2 February 2014 | United Bank for Investment (UBI) | $19.7 million | $19.7 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 16 November 2013 | United Bank for Investment (UBI) | $19.5 million | $19.5 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 10 November 2013 | Al-Bilad Islamic Bank for Investment & Finance | $19.5 million | $26.2 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | United Bank for Investment (UBI) | $19.5 million | $19.5 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | Kurdistan International Islamic Bank for Investment & Development | $18.7 million | $18.7 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 7 December 2013 | $18.3 million | $18.3 million | No reason given, or unreadable | ||
| 16 December 2013 | Region Trade Bank (RTB, formerly Emerald Bank) | $18.3 million | $18.3 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 25 July 2013 | Elaf Islamic Bank (formerly Barakaat Bank) | $17.9 million | $17.9 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 23 November 2013 | Al-Bilad Islamic Bank for Investment & Finance | $17.7 million | $24.5 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | Al-Bilad Islamic Bank for Investment & Finance | $17.2 million | $23.8 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 10 December 2013 | Ashur International Bank for Investment | $17.1 million | $17.1 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 16 November 2013 | Gulf Commercial Bank | $17 million | $25.2 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 8 January 2014 | North Bank for Finance & Investment | $16.7 million | $16.7 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 28 December 2013 | $16.6 million | $20.4 million | No reason given, or unreadable | ||
| 29 May 2014 | $16.3 million | $16.3 million | No reason given, or unreadable | ||
| 3 February 2013 | Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) | $16.2 million | $16.2 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 21 July 2013 | National Islamic Bank | $16.2 million | $16.2 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | Erbil Bank for Investment & Finance | $16.1 million | $16.1 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | Al-Bilad Islamic Bank for Investment & Finance | $15.5 million | $29.6 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | Investment Bank of Iraq | $15.2 million | $22.4 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | Cihan Bank for Islamic Investment & Finance | $15.1 million | $19.4 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | Sumer Commercial Bank | $14.9 million | $14.9 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 6 November 2013 | Iraqi Islamic Bank for Investment & Development | $14.9 million | $14.9 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | $14.9 million | $21.8 million | No reason given, or unreadable | ||
| undated | Al-Bilad Islamic Bank for Investment & Finance | $14.8 million | $24.6 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | United Bank for Investment (UBI) | $14.7 million | $14.7 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | Gulf Commercial Bank | $14.1 million | $20.7 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 31 January 2013 | $14 million | $14 million | No reason given, or unreadable | ||
| 1 December 2014 | Erbil Bank for Investment & Finance | $14 million | $14 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 16 December 2013 | $13.8 million | $13.8 million | No reason given, or unreadable | ||
| 16 December 2013 | $13.7 million | $13.7 million | No reason given, or unreadable | ||
| 6 November 2013 | North Bank for Finance & Investment | $13.6 million | $13.6 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 3 March 2014 | Erbil Bank for Investment & Finance | $13.4 million | $13.4 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | Al-Bilad Islamic Bank for Investment & Finance | $13.1 million | $29.1 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 15 December 2013 | United Bank for Investment (UBI) | $13.1 million | $13.4 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 29 May 2014 | $13 million | $19.2 million | No reason given, or unreadable | ||
| 11 December 2013 | Erbil Bank for Investment & Finance | $12.9 million | $21.1 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 3 October 2013 | Economy Bank for Investment & Finance | $12.9 million | $12.9 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 10 December 2013 | Mosul Bank for Development & Investment | $12.8 million | $12.8 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 22 May 2013 | Gulf Commercial Bank | $12.8 million | $12.8 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | Sumer Commercial Bank | $12.8 million | $12.8 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| 12 December 2013 | Babylon Bank | $12.5 million | $12.5 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | Gulf Commercial Bank | $12.5 million | $18.9 million | No reason given, or unreadable | |
| undated | Al-Huda Bank | $12.5 million | $12.5 million | No reason given, or unreadable |
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Download:refusals.csv.xlsx
Company names in the Central Bank's notes are shown as the bank wrote them. 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.