Note:  One of the conditions Iraq has stated to be important is its citizens' housing and health benefits.  We know that a re-visit for the currency adjustment would not happen until the housing shortage and health benefits are satisfied for the Iraqi people.  The Ministry of Planning announced on Thursday that Baghdad needs 850,000 housing units. 

This article has been translated and rewritten for clarity from an Iraqi News Agency. 

 On Thursday, October 12, 2023, the Real Estate Bank announced that the Central Bank's initiative to house the poor classes has been successful, as well as launching a new program to buy housing units for citizens.

In an interview with the Iraqi News Agency, "Al-Iqtisad News", Abbas Shihab Ahmed, Director General of the Bank, shared that the Central Bank of Iraq's initiative (real estate) has made significant progress in addressing the housing issue. He emphasized that this initiative supports citizens from the poor and middle classes, including those with limited income, in finding suitable housing. The completion rate of this initiative has been 100% in previous years and continues to be successful this year. The total funds allocated for the real estate initiative for the years 2021-2023 is estimated at 5 trillion dinars.

According to him, "the Central Bank continues to assist citizens in purchasing housing units through a new initiative of (recovered funds) in accordance with new instructions," and "this is done by allocating weekly payments to the Real Estate Bank, which distributes those funds across all Iraqi provinces."

"The Real Estate Bank and the Central Bank of Iraq adhered to and implemented the directives of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani by:

To speed up the process, transactions in Muthanna Governorate were promoted and regulated immediately after the Prime Minister's directive and before the Central Bank transferred funds.

Once the money transfer is received from the Central Bank of Iraq, send it to the Muthanna Governorate branch of the Real Estate Bank.

As a result of sending the transfer mentioned above, the funds are still available at the Real Estate Bank / Muthanna Governorate branch, and the branch continues to finance and grant citizens housing loans as well as organize their transactions.

A statistic has been prepared for citizens who intend to purchase housing units in Muthanna province and submit it to the Central Bank of Iraq for additional allocations.

According to him, the Real Estate Bank has reduced its interest rate to zero and is following the directives of the Central Bank of Iraq. The bank has requested a change in the lending contract for the real estate initiative, with a request to extend it from 15 to 20 years. They are currently awaiting a response from the Central Bank.

Taking steps to prevent confusion over a national project that has contributed and continues to finance nearly 50,000 housing units for Iraqi families, he called on the bank to "observe accuracy in the transfer of information and send inquiries to the concerned authorities before publishing them."