Da Afghanistan Bank Shared its Major Achievements and Performances with Public through a Press Conference
April 05, 2023 - Keeping in view the principles of transparency and accountability, today Da Afghanistan Bank shared its major achievements and performances of the fiscal year 1401 (2022) with the Public through a press conference held at the Government Media Center.
At the outset, Director General of Da Afghanistan Bank's Monetary Policy, Mr. Ahmad Javad Saddad, shared the goals, mission and main duties of DAB and called the financial year 1401 (2022) a year of achievements for Da Afghanistan Bank.
Mr. Saddad added that according to the latest figures of the National Bureau of Statistics and Information, the inflation rate declined to 3.5% in the month of Dalwa 1401 (February, 2022), while it was 15.3% in the same period of the previous year. At the same time, the value of the Afghani against the US dollar has increased by 1.01 percent while during the year 1400 (2021), the value of Afghani against the US dollar recorded a decrease of 13.86 percent.
Subsequently, Director General of Market Operations, Mr. Mohammad Abbas Sameh, referred to the effective management of a limited part of Afghanistan's foreign exchange reserves that we have access to and said that by implementing reasonable policies, we were able to meet the country's foreign exchange needs.
Mr. Sameh shed light on Da Afghanistan Bank's efforts and technical discussions with international organizations for acquiring full access to the country's foreign exchange reserves and said that by achieving this goal, significant achievements will be made in the financial and banking sector of the country.
DAB’s Director General of the Islamic Banking, Dr. Mohammad Yousef Salim, discussed about three-years strategic plan for managing and improving the banking sector, revising banking laws and regulations and adapting them to the economic conditions of the country, on-going supervision of the activities of commercial banks, and restrictions on withdrawing money from personal accounts in these banks.
Dr. Salim referred to the useful discussions that took place during the financial year 1401 (2022) with international partners pertaining to the improvement of banking relations and international transfers, and said that obtaining general licenses number 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America, was a major achievement which resulted in the facilitation of money transfers for the supply of primary material needs of the country.
He also stressed on the need to further develop the Islamic Banking in the country and said that Da Afghanistan Bank has made effective efforts in this regard during the past year, which include preparing the first draft of the Sukuk Law, converting the First Microfinance Bank into an Islamic Bank and finalizing several guidelines and procedures for Islamic Banking products.
At the end of the conference, Director General Non-banking Financial Institutions of DAB, Mr. Ahmad Zahir Naserzai, spoke about developing mechanisms for the activities of non-banking financial institutions, which include FXDs, money service providers, electronic money institutions, lease institutions, and payment institutions.
Mr. Naserzai referred to a comprehensive plan for developing mechanisms for the activities of this sector, which was approved by the cabinet of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and more than 2500 non-standard individual licenses of FXDs, and money service providers were canceled, and instead, 876 new corporate licenses were distributed to FXD and money services providing companies in accordance with new standards. Similarly, compiling the list of sanctions on FXD and money services providing companies, creating a joint committee between the relevant departments in order to identify and prevent the activities of illegal FXDs, identifying more than 700 unauthorized FXDs and adopting anti-money laundering and proceeds of crimes enforcement measures, are other achievements that Da Afghanistan Bank has made during the fiscal year 1401 (2022).
The conference was concluded when the officials of Da Afghanistan Bank provided answers to the questions posed by the country’s mass media representatives.
