650 caller: There was an article published about a four-phase process. What about the stabilizing the value prior to doing this?
DC: Stabilitization of the US dollar is important but challenging since 2004 on; they have done a tremendous job with that. The plan demands stability in the country, the currency and the markets. They have got rid of the political problems for the most part, so that is stabilizing the markets. The price of the US dollar has gone up dramatically because most of the world economies are in the crapper, with sanctions in Russia and Iran, and with the Eurozone down in the dumps. We have 2.4% GDP, which is not great but at least we are not dying. People are doing for safety, and that means that the US dollar and US Treasury bills are going up, making it more expensive for other countries and their currencies. The auctions also cause tension and on the streets they are having issues. Iraq also has a physical money problem and what they do have are worn out, so that is forcing them to use US dollars even though they don’t want to. The dinar notes are just worn out. There is only one way out, and that is to RI or RV, but it’s leaking out in an enormous fashion in Iraq. It’s messing with the flow of money and that is causing hell trying to keep the dinar stable. They are having trouble keeping it on board. Shabibi has done a superb job, but the only way through is to RI.
Caller: If this is in the IMF’s hands, is that the reason they cannot do it at this time, until they can re-establish control?
DC: It’s not good, but it’s not like the world is coming to an end. They can cope.
Caller: If there is a dual-rate system in Iraq, how can they use their cards today?
DC: Some cannot use their cards at all, although it shows money in their accounts. Some can use the cards using their rate, although the government is paying them in different rates. It’s a big giant mess. Most businesses and the government have stopped the exchanges going on at all, and that has slowed down the economy a lot.
Tony: On Friday and Saturday, they were adjusting those rates again and this was supposed to go on Sunday, but it didn’t.
Caller: So if they cannot use their cards or get cash, what is the point?
Tony: That is the same thing here: some people have money in their accounts, but they cannot use it.
DC: The lower denominations are being circulated apart from the fil coins.
719 caller: Someone’s sister went to the bank in Houston, and they said that they would exchange on 20th April, and we didn’t believe it then. It’s not about us but about Iraq; if they had been paid, we would wonder what was holding this up. Is any of the delay through the IMF?
DC: The US has been very hands-off for the past five months or so now. They have been staying out of it, although they’ve been making their opinions known. They have not been actively blocking things that we know of. This everyone trying to get perfect.
Caller: Can you tell us any of the ‘good ideas’? Do they have to go along with those?
DC: Abadi and Shabibi are pretty good at killing them, but sometimes those ideas have already taken hold before they get to their desks. This is very fluid and no one has absolute authority. Shabibi has the authority to pull the trigger, but he has to herd 1,000 cats to get this lined up.
Caller: What are we looking at this week?
DC: I can give you my opinion, for what it’s worth. ABadi and his team are here to work on ISIL issues, Mosul and military hardware. He is scheduled to go back to Iraq by the middle of the week and then he is free and clear. The early exchanges can happen whether Abadi is here or in Iraq. I don’t believe the 15th is the final date.
Caller: Do you think it will happen this week, by the 15th or when?
Tony: The banks have been authorized to do the early exchanges today, but for some reason they are not doing them. I understand they will start toing them this week. I don’t give a date because they will change it. We know it’s here, we know they can do it, and it doesn’t make sense for a standing PM to announce a major change for his country while he is in another country. There is a plan and a timeframe for the early release and for a public release. I don’t understand why the banks haven’t done this.
Caller: If they were authorized last week, they could get a lot of people out of the way! Also, you said that the historic bonds cannot be paid without an RV.
Tony: They have been paid, they have transferred money all around the world because the RV has happened, it just hasn’t been announced publicly yet. However, the more people they pay that we know about – and we know the locations, people, tax rates and fees – the more confidence we have that this will go and we will get it.
Caller: I don’t know if people know how hard weekends are on people. They don’t have the money to go out and do stuff, and it’s tough to stay positive. Any kind of update sure would be appreciated.
Tony: Unless there is something really, really happening that will affect this, we don’t do that. I haven’t seen anything to that effect yet. It’s hard on you and on all of us, especially when they tell us that it’s happening on Sunday, then it doesn’t.
DC: And these are the people doing it! We have the same questions for them that you have for us: How can you not know what’s going on? Or why it has changed? There are so many moving parts that it’s hard to get this synchronized…
425 caller: You have an interesting article about bank perks, and one of them says something about parking your funds in overnight funds that guarantee 1% per month, which is 12-15% per year. Is that real?
Tony: That is possible, but not for the average person who has only a few thousand dollars. If you have millions of dollars, you can work out something totally different. Also, there are other places to get that, beside the bank. You have to negotiate with the bank, and other places to get that level – investment places overseas, annuity accounts here, and many other investment vehicles that pay you that level. They are high-risk, high-reward.
Caller: They start to do the early appointments, will those be international or contract rates?
DC: We have been told that will be 9-14,000 per day, and both rates are available.
Caller: When people bring up security problems in Iraq, you say that’s not an issue. As I watch the news and read, that seems like a big deal, so why do you say otherwise?
DC: Yes, it’s an issue, but they have known it’s going on for 2-3 years, and that has not impeded the RV well over 130 times. We are talking to people doing the RV, and although they don’t want to announce it on a bad bomb day, but otherwise it’s not an issue on holding up the RV itself. Yes, ISIL is a bad group and they will be punished. They did hold the RV up for the first day of Tikrit. They do want the details to be perfect, but dealing with ISIL and the other issues is part of the game.
Tony: The RV itself, the currency, is being used as a weapon against ISIL, so that people will drop their arms and buy consumer goods instead. Any time there is a major event, you can’t have half the country crying, the other half celebrating on the same day.
208 caller: Sometimes I’m in Seattle and sometimes in Idaho; where is better to exchange?
DC: The bigger cities will have more options, more places. More significant will be the situation with the income tax. In some states I have to pay taxes on profit made there, so that is the issue. The state that has that much money flowing through it, they will want to see some of that in taxes. It’s wise to plan with that in mind.
Tony: They can wipe out all the state tax, and the feds will get so much money they will send some of it to the states through programs, so the states will still get some money.
Caller: This has been going on so long… can you update us on the rates? You said we would be happy and some of the rates went up?
Tony: The most recent rates I’ve heard are 4.20 for dinar, 1.27 international / 2.27 contract for the dong, 1.05 steady for rupiah, zim from .15 up to .22 and the other one we’re not talking about. It’s all still good guys – it’s not new, it’s done! The only thing exciting will be ‘here is the 800 number, let’s go to the bank!’
410 caller: It’s beautiful here, in the middle of the afternoon. You said something about new procedures; these people who have been training, maybe there are getting new instructions? If they had to be trained for years, how do you change that quickly?
Tony: We don’t know who the changes apply to – just the banks, or us as well? The good thing is that more people are being trained at a lower level, because this is about to happen. It involved more people in the banking system.
Caller: I heard that other new banks are participating… I heard SunTrust might be involved? How is the spirit in the banks these days?
DC: A large number of the tier 2 and 3 banks will be handling this just like other foreign exchange procedures; they have been retrained and recertified in the WF process. A few will also offer contract rates, but at tier 2 and 3 it will be mainly international rates. They will be ramped up more slowly as well and will have a hard time catching up. The banks are starting to have major issues with people getting frustrated and leaving. The banks say their staff cannot buy currency but they just go buy it elsewhere. Some are calling their relatives and telling them to buy currencies. That banks are highly worried about what’s going on. They have internal security and regulators updating them on estimated dinarians working for their banks, and the number is climbing rapidly. All the banks we are talking to are in a bad position because their staff are getting pissed. The employees either have currency and will retire, or will quit through sheer frustration.
Caller: Are the tier 2 banks doing early exchanges? [Appreciation]
DC: Not that we have heard so far. Remember, we only get 60% of the information.
Tony: We do have a huge team who look at the numbers and the information, and they support us in these calls.
DC: Some people gripe that we tell you too much information. I thought it was evident that we are more involved in this process than just leaking intel. If someone is a high-level person in the CBI, UST, Fed, administration, Congress and so on, they never expected many people to find out about this. They thought that dinarians were just dinarians and conspiracy theorists, but then there are people like Tony who are just trying to educate as many people as possible. So part of that job is to have a voice in there, to have someone whispering to those influential people and having our points heard in a meeting or two. Now the people in the process now accept the economic impact this will have in the world, and they are proud of that influence. That’s where I volunteered my own services to this call, and ‘voluntold’ my sources and contacts to that end.
Caller: This is an internet community that feels they can trust what you say and this is a huge education for the entire world.
Tony: When we started, that is what set us apart from everyone else. The other sites talked about dinar and they always wanted to recruit you into some package, etc. It wasn’t really about helping you understand the currencies AND your future. We are trying to tell you how to protect yourself, how to use that money five years down the road, and the whole mindset of being rich. I think that’s how we are less full of s**t than the other sites. People recognized that and this is why DC is here today.
775 caller: [Appreciation] I’m looking out for an 89-year-old woman who inherited this currency when her son died, and now her husband has died, too. She is on her own. You mentioned about changing your phone number. What are the five most important things I can do to help keep her secure, without scaring her?
DC: This is what I will do:
1. Change my phone number for business calls. It depends on how exposed she is. I am very exposed especially after these calls. It’s not hard to figure out my number. But for those who are not as public, it’s about what you have done out there.
2. Change your address. For instance, use a PO Box, and you can forward that to another PO Box or another address (like your attorney) so they cannot reverse-address it.
3. Talk to an estate attorney so your wishes are well-known.
4. Go slowly; you cannot spend money too slowly.
5. You can pay for accommodation and medical needs ahead of time. There are wonderful high-end secure retirement homes run by terrific people.
6. Change your email address.
It’s really about hiding in plain side. Don’t buy flashy cars or jewelry. If you have normal cars, clothes and such, no one will notice. It’s great you are caring for her.
Tony: At 89 years old, she should have someone go in with her. She needs to restrict access through her wealth manager ONLY, so she is not called by people who want to sell her things. She should set up a main account with NO credit card, and a daily-use account with a low limit on her debit card. My mother-in-law buys from anyone who calls her, and some older people are like that, so you need to look out for that. The banker will not let them if it goes through him. Also, the personal banker will come to her. The main thing is to keep her personal information security.
615 caller: I have some guys in the UST, and I’m trying to understand the exchange process. We take currency to the bank, the bank gives us dollars, and send the dinar to the UST, who gives them the money. Why wouldn’t the banks want to exchange?
DC: That is the million-dollar question.
Caller: How will Iraq’s liquidity problem change with the RV?
DC: There is money set aside for reconstruction built into this plan, well over 100m dinar. All the steps involved economic activities which will expand the economy. There will be tax revenue coming in as well. Everyone says this has to be perfect, but this is a step to perfection. There will be stimulus, but that will take a little time in Iraq.
Tony: Let’s say you are a bank. This was supposed to go ten years ago. They started to pay out people two years ago. They are doing this based on somebody saying “we are doing this and today is the today – no, it’s today, or today.” They are exposed when they exchange before the formal public RV. What is the benefit to them doing it earlier rather than later, when they are going to get it all eventually? Rather than eating it?
Caller: If the UST gave them the go-ahead, won’t the UST cover that?
DC: The CBI is giving the credit for the long-term oil subsidies. That process will continue, and that’s where the money comes from, ultimately. But the banks have learned a painful lesson from 2008 that just because the government says it’s okay, that doesn’t mean they won’t get screwed five years down the line when the companies they took over have bigger losses than expected. The government is saying that they are free and clear, but they don’t want to expose themselves any more than necessary.
Caller: How will there be enough cash in the world to revalue dinar, dong, zim and rupiah?
DC: The base currency is the dinar, and that will be the new reserve currency instead of gold or US dollars. That is based on the new VALUE of the dinar, and countries can use dinar as a reserve currency as well. That increases the value of the reserves in that country, just as Iraq backs its currency with their oil, gas and gold reserves.
Tony: We could give back all the dinar right now. The US puts dollars in our bank accounts, but that is just numbers on the screen – we cannot use it. Iraq only has to pay for those dinar over the next 30 years. So the US says that they will pay out the dollars over 20 or 50 years, by which time they have made enough in interest to pay it out. The numbers are larger than people think, and it’s over time. Those are numbers on the screen, and people can spend it using credit cards and such. They don’t need cash.
Caller: Let’s say I have $150 million – I can’t take that out? I have projects I can put it in.
Tony: What will you do with it? It will still be in the banking system somewhere…
Caller: I just don’t get why they haven’t pushed this through.
DC: It’s not a money issue or an accountability issue. It was not designed to be such a huge thing. Because it is now so massive with so many moving parts, if one of those parts is rattling, they have to address that. They are now in a state where they can implement those early exchanges in a minute. We think that is a wonderful way to get people threw at that level. We believe in early exchanges. They should do that to lessen the impact on the economy, resources, and the PR problems.
Caller: So if they process 9-14,000 per day, how do you get on a list??
DC: If they get going, I’ve been told that (roughly speaking) there are people on existing lists, and that will take up half a day worldwide. They will have to come up with more people to go through. We have a list and we talk to people on the phone, like you, that are educated and can go through the system quickly and cleanly. We can post a phone call that educates more people on how to get into the system, with the info they need all ready. That 9-14,000 is individual exchanges, as well as the groups.
Summary: We are all frustrated, everyone in this entire process. Everybody is prepared for this to go through, but apart from early exchanges, we believe they will wait for Dr. Abadi to get back to Iraq on Wednesday. There is no restriction on early exchanges; let’s hope and pray this goes across the finish line.
Pam: I am ready, I am waiting and it’s worth the wait.
Ray: Continue to enjoy Marvelous Monday and we’ll see what happens on the 15th. I’m excited and you should be too.
Tony: We can always tell you what is going on after the fact. It should have gone on Sunday, so everyone is ready for this to happen. I don’t imagine it will happen while PM Abadi is here in terms of the official public announcement. We do know some things happened last week with bonds and paymasters saying they are sending money on Tuesday (tomorrow). We are not waiting for Mosul or Iran, and I don’t see that they can drag it out for two months without people going crazy. It’s time for the Iraqi people to be paid and start enjoying their blessings. The banks are making changes to the payout procedures, and we won’t know what those are until they are released. I do think we will have to have a Wednesday call before this is announced. Enjoy the rest of your day!
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