Banking and Finance

Turkey bans cryptocurrency payments

The Turkish Central Bank said cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are too risky and forbade their use in the country.

Al-Monitor Staff | News Brief | Apr 16, 2021

People stand in front of a "Bitcoin Change" shop near the Grand Bazaar on Sept. 24, 2020, in Istanbul.

Syria’s Assad fires central bank chief amid currency failures

Al-Monitor Staff | News Brief | Apr 15, 2021

Israel’s first digital bank now rolling

Israel’s first digital bank wants to create a revolution in the banking sectors, much like Spotify revolutionized the music industry and Tesla the vehicle market.

Danny Zaken | Israel | Mar 24, 2021

A trader looks at his monitors as he works in a dealing room in Tel Aviv on October 12, 2008 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Turkish markets rattled after surprise firing of central bank head

Turkey’s lira and main stock index slid about 9% Monday as markets reacted to the surprise removal of the nation’s central bank chief amid broader political turmoil.

Diego Cupolo | Turkey | Mar 22, 2021

Traders work at their desks on the floor of the Borsa Istanbul in Istanbul on May 22, 2018. - Turkey's embattled currency, the lira, has hit new historic lows against the US dollar after Fitch ratings agency expressed concerns over the central bank's independence in the wake of comments by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP)

Turkish Central Bank holds interest rate steady

As forecasted, Turkey’s Central Bank policymakers held a key interest rate steady Thursday, saying they would continue working to reel in the nation’s double-digit inflation.

Diego Cupolo | Turkey | Jan 21, 2021

Cash-strapped Turkey relies on Qatari investments

In only five years, Qatar has come to account for 15% of all foreign direct investments in Turkey, second only to deep-rooted Dutch investors.

Mustafa Sonmez | Turkey | Dec 2, 2020

International financial alliance forms to help Iraq

Several countries are forming an economic alliance to help Iraq in its financial crisis.

Salam Zidane | Iraq | Nov 12, 2020

A man counts a pile of US Dollar bank notes in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on May 4, 2020, during the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. - With its financial outlook darkening by the day, Iraq is considering slashing its massive public payroll -- an unpopular move likely to renew protests.
OPEC's second-largest producer has been hit hard by the double-whammy of collapsed crude prices and the COVID-19 pandemic, which have hacked at its revenues from oil sales. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD A

Iran desperate to maintain Iraqi financial lifeline

Iran seeks to maintain the flow of hard currency from Iraq to help it overcome the US sanctions.

Mustafa Saadoun | Iraq | Oct 23, 2020

Egyptians turn to Bitcoin amid coronavirus crisis

Soaring prices of cryptocurrencies, most notably Bitcoin, are tempting many unemployed Egyptians seeking to achieve quick gains, amid fears of Bitcoin being exploited to finance terrorism or illegal trade.

David Awad | Egypt | Sep 22, 2020

The photo shows a physical imitation of a Bitcoin in Dortmund, western Germany, on January 27, 2020. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP) (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)

Tehran Stock Exchange: The end of an illusion

Many Iranian investors have recently seen the value of their portfolios drop significantly due to governmental overregulation in times of market growth.

Ali Dadpay | Iran | Sep 8, 2020

Iranian men monitor the stock market at Tehran Stock Exchange on July 1, 2019. - Iran's stock market is thriving, despite US sanctions which have battered its economy and an uncertain future as geopolitical tensions soar in the Gulf. Its main index, TEDPIX, has steadily risen over the last 12 months, accelerating in the most recent quarter to hit a historic high of 248,577 last week -- more than twice its level a year ago. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Get

Lebanon-IMF talks make little progress despite bank collapse

The Lebanese ruling elite is still bargaining over the economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund, while the country’s economic situation continues to go downhill.

Mona Alami | Lebanon | Aug 31, 2020

Lebanese Army soldiers roll away a flaming tire from the fence surrounding the local branch of the Banque du Liban (Lebanese Central Bank) as protesters gather to demonstrate against dire economic conditions in the northern city of Tripoli on June 11, 2020. - The Lebanese pound sank to a record low on the black market on June 11 despite the authorities' attempts to halt the plunge of the crisis-hit country's currency, money changers said. Lebanon is in the grips of its worst economic turmoil in decades, and

Lebanon's central bank to take over banks that cannot boost capital

The central bank is giving Lebanese banks until February to increase their capital by 20% or give their shares to the government amid fears that people's deposits are at risk.

Al-Monitor Staff | Lebanon | Aug 28, 2020

IMF calls for Lebanon reforms, explores ways to assist Beirut

The International Monetary Fund, which began talks with Lebanon in May, called for critical economic reforms in the aftermath of the Beirut blast.

Al-Monitor Staff | Lebanon | Aug 7, 2020

Turkey’s ‘peg-legged’ foreign currency reserves

Turkey’s central bank appears increasingly fragile, with more than 60% of its reserves secured through swap deals.

Mustafa Sonmez | Turkey | Jul 1, 2020

Turkish lira banknotes are pictured at a bank in the town of Sarmada in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, on June 14, 2020. - Authorities in northwest Syria are taking steps to substitute the plummeting Syrian pound with the Turkish lira to shield their opposition-held region from an economic crisis ahead of new US sanctions, an official said. The Salvation Government -- a civilian body affiliated to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham jihadist group which dominates the Idlib region -- had already started paying wa

Lebanese banks raise exchange rate to dollars as crisis worsens

A member of the government's IMF negotiations team also resigned in opposition to the government's handling of the worst financial crisis in decades.

Al-Monitor Staff | Lebanon | Jun 29, 2020

Banking and Finance

Turkey bans cryptocurrency payments

The Turkish Central Bank said cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are too risky and forbade their use in the country.

Syria’s Assad fires central bank chief amid currency failures

Israel’s first digital bank now rolling

Turkish markets rattled after surprise firing of central bank head

Turkish Central Bank holds interest rate steady

Cash-strapped Turkey relies on Qatari investments

International financial alliance forms to help Iraq

Iran desperate to maintain Iraqi financial lifeline

Egyptians turn to Bitcoin amid coronavirus crisis

Tehran Stock Exchange: The end of an illusion

Lebanon-IMF talks make little progress despite bank collapse

Lebanon's central bank to take over banks that cannot boost capital

IMF calls for Lebanon reforms, explores ways to assist Beirut

Turkey’s ‘peg-legged’ foreign currency reserves

Lebanese banks raise exchange rate to dollars as crisis worsens

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