The immediate measure to allow for the reduction of remittances' costs would be to encourage senders and recipients to make use of banks and other financial institutions that is to say, to bank the unbanked , both in developed and developing countries.

5. Distribution of loans from BIS reporting banks, selected Asian countries

Statistics on remittances provided by recipient countries are not comparable so far due to a lack of harmonisation of Central Banks regulations.

For instance, banks in developing nations could make use of remittances as a basis for the development of micro credit lines and the issuance of bonds backed on future inflows.

This, Egypt points out, is contrary to the terms of the agreement between Egypt and Iraq whereby 20 per cent of the workers remittances should have been sent to the AAIB, and 40 per cent each to the Cairo branch of the Rafidain Bank and the Bank of Alexandria.Consequently, Egypt has requested the Panel to ask Iraq to explain the basis of its calculation of the sum of US 118,102,263.67.

6. Distribution of loans from BIS reporting banks, selected Latin American countries

According to the Law on the System of Payments and Payment Organizations the Money remittance transfer service can operate outside the banks only after being licensed by the Central Bank.

The use of banks and other financial institutions by receivers and senders of remittances would also contribute to the reduction of transfer costs.

This, Iraq contends, is because the Government of Iraq, on 6 April 1991, issued instructions to all banks in the country to stop all foreign exchange transfers and to not issue any payment orders from 5 April 1991.

(c) In order to address the concerns of remittance receiving States, registered alternative remittance systems should be obliged to settle balances through normal banking channels

The effects of banks hijacking of national payment systems to service only the modern economy are compounded by the exclusive agreements that banks and money transfer companies such as Western Union have signed with most African countries. These agreements lock out non banking entities from the highly lucrative market for migrant remittances from the African diaspora, which remain a key engine of growth.

The bulk of remittances is channeled through money transfer operators (Western Union, Money Graw and Thomas Cook being the major players), which account for up to 70 of remittances transfers from the United States to Latin American countries.

According to the Law on the System of Payments, the activity of money remittance transfer services is illegal if they are not licensed by the Central Bank.

When determining which Member States were fully paid up, elements such as bank charges on remittances were ignored by the Secretariat.

That was the reason for approaching regional development banks which could provide loans in the local currency, unlike the World Bank whose lending was denominated in dollars, which might expose some countries to the risks of exchange rate fluctuations.

HSBC video

Working groups including private and public institutions could be created both in recipient and sender countries in order to collaborate in the identification of obstacles to remittances flows and ways to remove them.

If remittances are measured in terms of their share in the GDP, the largest recipient countries are Tonga, Lesotho and Jordan.

Bank remittances to the suppliers by the Kampala firm on behalf of the Ituri traders.

As it stands, Chinese exchange rates are allowed to fluctuate by a maximum of 2 on either side of the central parity, which the PBOC fixes daily. When the moving market rate reaches the edges of the fluctuation band, the PBOC can intervene in the market by buying or selling its foreign exchange reserves.

That amount has been remitted to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, which is managed by the World Bank.

No money remittance agencies are operating outside the banks (see the answer to the question 1.6).

Spain has launched initiatives that can be grouped into two categories a) promoting a higher participation of banks and financial institutions in the channelling of remittances.

One of the greatest challenges China must confront before the WTO treaty enters into force in 2007 is to prepare the country s banking system for privatization and competition with foreign banks. The government has established a new agency, Central Hujin Investment Company, to manage and re capitalize big state owned banks before they are sold.

Voluntary contributions to the Fund can be made by bank transfer or by cheque to the order of the United Nations.

Further, Iraq provided a breakdown, by date, of the value of the payment orders issued by the Rafidain and Rashid Banks relating to the funds deposited by Egyptian workers for transfer.

According to estimates by the World Bank, remittances reached 72 billion in 2001 and 93 billion in 2003.

As the Central Bank of the country, the Bank of Zambia administered the Bank of Zambia and Foreign Exchange Acts and assisted the Government in regulating and supervising the operations of the Commercial Banks under the Banking Act.

For example, Saudi Arabia informed the Team that it has designated certain bank branches for remittances at reduced fees.

South South cooperation could focus on improving the availability of statistical data, drawing more of the remittances into formal banking channels and reducing the costs of transmitting funds (which can be as high as 20 per cent of small amounts).

Depositors in the Bank had demanded that the Government guarantee full repayment of their deposits.6

While ownership of bank assets by foreign institutions offers potential opportunities, excessive foreign ownership of bank assets has also, at times, constrained lending to the domestic private sectors and small and medium scale enterprises.

REQUIRED BANK REPORTING PROCEDURES suspected transactions have been reported by banks, on their volition, using the Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) reporting procedure. These reports

(f) Bank deposits

The remittance system of Hawala does not obtain in this jurisdiction.

IOM would be working with the World Bank to coordinate international efforts to improve the quality of data collection and reporting on migration and remittances.

The international community should develop mechanisms to register money transfer services in order to prevent the misuse of informal money transfer systems such as hawala system.

Sending money to some countries is now allowed only through formal banking channels, and this has created virtual monopolies while also preventing remittance money from reaching rural areas where banks don t operate. In West Africa, a simple money transfer operator now handles 70 of official payments and also imposes exclusivity on banks.

The SWIFT wire system is used by the Central Bank of Syria and the Syrian Commercial Bank (Government owned establishments) and by private banks in accordance with recognized international norms.

More important, these published numbers surely understate the true magnitude of remittance flows, since migrants sending funds home have a choice they can choose between institutional entities such as banks, Western Union, MoneyGram, exchange houses and the like, as well as informal channels.

The Hispanic approach emphasizes migrants involvement in banking by offering a range of banking services in both the country of origin and the host country, products of specific interest to migrants, and low commissions on foreign transfers. This approach, widely developed by Morocco and the Portuguese speaking world, is epitomized by the zero commission policy initiated by the Spanish bank Santander and its Moroccan counterpart, Attijariwafa Bank.

All the banks, credit organizations and exchange bureaus are subject to inspection at least once in two years at the discretion of the Board of the Central Bank.

A branch of HSBC bank is located close to the scene of the explosion.

In particular, I advised the Bank on legal matters concerning trade related loan credit agreements and other arrangements for the availability of Foreign Exchange to meet the Loan Commitments either by the Bank of Zambia itself or the Government of the Republic of Zambia.

According to resolution 1455 (2003) reports, the top seven remittance receiving States in 2001, as identified by the World Bank, with the exception of one, were silent on alternative remittances or whether unregistered systems were illegal.