By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi and Abubakar Siddique May 29, 2024 An increasing number of Afghans are taking out their money from banks and closing their accounts, a trend spurred by mistrust in the unrecognized Taliban government and concerns about the country’s bleak economic outlook. The Taliban takeover in 2021 triggered a cash and banking crisis.
Tolo News: The Central Bank said that the banking system in the country is getting back to normal levels, and urged citizens to remain supportive of the banking sector in the country. Haseebullah Noori, press director of Da Afghanistan Bank (Central Bank), said that the banking sector is out of the crisis now. The Central
Tolo News: Kabul residents on Saturday expressed their concerns over the lack of ATM machines in the city, saying they are facing problems as they have to wait in queues outside banks for hours to withdraw money. According to residents, many ATM machines in the city are not working anymore. Click here to read more
LA Times: In previous years, the Afghan central bank — known as Da Afghanistan Bank, or DAB — would withdraw annually 3 billion to 4 billion afghanis’ worth (about $33 million to $45 million) of decrepit banknotes and substitute them with new ones printed abroad. (Afghanistan does not have its own mint.) But the international
NPR: A recent visit to Afghanistan showed a country facing an economic crisis. The banking system has seized up. Credit cards aren’t working. Afghans abroad struggle to send money to relatives back home. The central bank’s shortage of funds is far from Afghanistan’s only banking problem. Private banks have struggled to do business with foreign
VOA News August 13, 2022 Mirwais Rahmani Roshan Noorzai WASHINGTON — A year into the Taliban’s de facto government in Afghanistan, the war-torn country has experienced an economic crisis that has worsened the already dire humanitarian situation there. The economy collapsed after the Taliban seized power in August 2021 and the international community placed sanctions on
Ayaz Gul VOA News June 29, 2022 ISLAMABAD — The United States and the Taliban are scheduled to hold talks in Qatar later this week that are expected to focus on economic and banking sanctions on Afghanistan, where last week’s devastating earthquake has worsened a humanitarian crisis. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, along with senior
AP: International funding once paid for much of the government budget — and without it, the Taliban have largely been unable to pay salaries or provide public services. Click here to read more (external link). Related U.N. warns of ‘colossal’ collapse of Afghan banking system
Tolo News: A number of Kabul residents said Thursday they no longer want to keep their money in the country’s banks. They said they will take out all of their previously deposited funds. Since the fall of the former government, Afghans have faced challenges in withdrawing their money from the banks and said they no
Reuters: The confidential, two-page brief, written early this month by senior international economic officials for institutions including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, said the country’s severe cash shortage began before the Taliban took control of Kabul. Click here to read more (external link). Other Economic News The Future Looks Bleak for Women Entrepreneurs