Algeria loses $ 3 billion a year because of the credit loans

Reliable reports estimated the annual losses that are incurred by Algeria of the imposition of credit loans, as a quasi-single means for the settlement of foreign trade operations since 2009, to $ 3 billion as a result of the high cost of the settling operations with foreign countries.

An important bank source, said in a statement to Echorouk; “We did not expect all this good and naive action from the Algerian government when it issued the decision in 2009”, adding: “All the studies show that there are other ways of payment much better than the credit loans, inexpensive, and included protection of economic and commercial interests of Algeria and the Algerian traders, but the government chose the worst decision among a number of options that are available in the field of foreign trade.”

An official source from a European bank with a global reputation said: “We achieved a profit of more than we expect in a short period and without risk or losses” adding: “It’s a gift from heaven for European banks that were nearly destroyed by the global economic crisis since 2008, before receiving a gift from the sky by a simple decision of the Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia and his Minister of Finance and Central Bank officials.”

Contrary to the justifications that were put forward by the government of Ahmed Ouyahia in 2009, when it imposed the use of credit loan in the settlement of all foreign trade operations by more than 100 thousand ZDZ, the process did not improved the image of Algerian institutions, and did not stop the flow of hard currency outward, as the value of the process of remittances by the end of the year is expected to teach $ 75 billion.

Some sources, from the banking sector, assert that some officials of foreign banks operating in Algeria are laughing on the Algerian government’s decision, and are no longer hesitating in making the decision of credit loan a subject to joke and laugh.

Director of one of the European banks operating in Algeria said the decision allowed foreign banks to achieve unbelievable profits, adding that officials of foreign banks did not believe the decision and they thought the government was kidding, wondering if Algeria has already experts in the banks who are able to advise the government.