UAE Financial Heads Woo London’s City Bankers

Despite a lack of local knowledge, UAE financial heads are increasingly looking to recruit top tier talent from the UK.

UAE’s Ajman Bank Sacks Chief Executive

Ajman Bank, one of the smaller lenders in UAE, announced it had hired Mohammed Zaqout as chief executive on April 8.

Saudi Arabia Not Worried About U.S. Debt Limit

Most of Saudi central bank’s net foreign assets are believed to be denominated in U.S. dollars, and much of that amount is in the form of U.S. Treasury bonds.

Dubai Aims To Be World Centre For Islamic Business

Dubai wants to become a top centre for the issuance and trading of Islamic bonds, aiming to rival the main hubs of Kuala Lumpur and London.

Banking On Gulf Wealth: Private Banking Special Report

The region’s private wealth industry is enjoying accelerated growth, as nationals bring their cash home to roost and domestic riches grow.

Dubai IPOs Signal Recovery But Market Wants Bigger Listings

The most recent listing on either of Dubai’s two stock markets occurred in early 2009, when construction firm Drake & Scull listed.

Private Banking Special: Arjuna Mahendran, Emirates NBD

Emirates NBD has lowered its bad debts forecasts and paid back Dhs7.8 billion of crisis-era funding to the Ministry of Finance.

Private Banking Special: Arnaud Leclercq, Lombard Odier

Lombard Odier plans to increase its assets in the Middle East to 20 per cent of its global business by the end of 2017.

UAE Records Highest M&A Deal Value In The Region

Deal value in the third quarter touched $19.1billion, up 99 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Private Banking Special: Pierre Masclet, Credit Agricole Suisse

Having roughly $54 billion assets under management, private banking contributes to around 70 per cent of the total group’s revenues.

Oman Cuts Interest Cap On Personal Loans To 6%

Annual growth in bank lending in Oman accelerated to a four-month high of 8.1 per cent in July.

Dubai Financial Market Soars 15% On Merger Hopes

Retail traders dumped some of their recent favourite shares in order to shift to DFM.

Bahrain Economy Shrinks 0.3% In Q2

Gross domestic product had expanded 2.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of 2013.

ME Funds Bullish On Saudi But Cautious On UAE

Investors have become less bullish on Dubai’s markets as they believe most of the stocks are now fully valued.

UAE Bourse Merger Gathers Steam As Advisers Hired

Talks on a tie-up between the Dubai Financial Market and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange have occurred on and off since 2010.

Private Banking Special: Daniel Savary, Julius Baer

Julius Baer’s total client assets amounted to CHF 304 billion ($321 billion) at the end of June 2012, with assets under management accounting CHF 218 billion for ($230 billion).

S&P Issues Profitability Warning To Gulf’s Islamic Banks

Banking assets in the GCC now account for around or slightly above a quarter of all banking assets in the region.

UAE To Begin Direct Debit System On October 5

The implementation of the country’s first direct debit system will see a reduction in the use of post-dated cheques to secure finances.

Majority of ME Employees Unhappy With Benefits Packages

According to Robert Walkers, 96 per cent of the employees consider benefits a critical factor when accepting an offer in the Middle East.

Qatar Financial Regulator Proposes Streamlining Share Acquisition Rules

Currently even small percentage movements in ownership have to be reported to the authority.

Qatar Holding Buys NYSE Euronext Stake Out Of Qatar Exchange

The deal, for which a price was not revealed, makes Qatar Holding the sole owner of Qatar Exchange

Abu Dhabi’s Al Hilal Bank Launches $500m Debut Sukuk

Orders from investors reportedly reached $2.75 billion.

Dubai’s Index Has Best Quarter In Six Years

Shares in Dubai were boosted during the quarter after index compiler MSCI upgraded the United Arab Emirates to emerging market status.

Ex-DIFC Exec Fined $7,500 For Falsifying Information

Tareck Fouad Farah was found guilty of issuing a letter containing false information.

ME Sovereign Funds Increasingly Investing In Property

Around 69 per cent of sovereign funds in the Middle East cited an increase in allocation of their investments to alternative options.

Saudi’s Almarai Prices Gulf’s First Corporate Hybrid Sukuk

BNP Paribas, HSBC, Saudi Fransi (Credit Agricole) and Standard Chartered were the leads.

Saudi Start-Up Glowork Gets $16m Investment

Saudi firm SAS has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Glowork, a platform that helps women in the Middle East find employment opportunities.

Private Banking Special: Khaled Sifri, Emirates Investment Bank

Founded in 1976, EIB changed its strategy away from pure asset management to a wealth management platform offering private and investment banking services to a broader client base.

Oman Air And Bank Muscat Launch Visa Credit Card

Co-branded card is designed to reward and enhance loyalty among frequent flyers

Dubai Stock Market Surges To 5-Year High On Heavy Buying

Dubai’s benchmark advanced 1.2 per cent to 2,771 points, its highest finish since November 2008