Middle East

After several years of inactivity, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) could see a spate of M&A deals in financial services. 

With mounting payment obligations and a worsening balance of payments, Pakistan has returned to the Islamic bond market after a two-year hiatus. In early October, Pakistan mopped up $1 billion through a dollar-denominated Islamic bond with a five-year tenure.

According to a recent IMF, World Bank and Arab Monetary Fund report, 40% of Arab banks are experiencing “a significant decline” in the scale of correspondent banking relationships. The report shows 167 terminated accounts in 2015 compared to 71 in ...

The safest banks in the Middle East are all based in the GCC, with the exception of the two large Israeli banks, Hapoalim and Leumi, which rank 26th and 27th. National Bank of Abu Dhabi remains the Safest Bank in ...

Syria’s agony is imposing serious costs for neighbors in terms of refugees, lost trade and dampened investment.

Beirut aims to become the number-one hub in the Middle East for young entrepreneurs, so the Lebanese Central Bank recently added $200 million its 2013 promise to guarantee $400 million in investment in the knowledge economy.

Egypt | Its IMF loan could ease investor concerns and end its foreign exchange shortage.

Can the Saudis’ $2 trillion Public Investment Fund transition the kingdom to a post-oil economy?

Striving to shake its oil dependence, Kuwait is opening up to foreign ownership. Will investors bite?

From financial services to healthcare to tourism, the Emirates is exploring and expanding into new non-oil businesses.

Sparkling office towers won’t draw business without the right policies.

These are exciting times for the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as the decline in oil revenues is forcing them to finally make dramatic changes to their oil-based economies.

Noor Bank focuses on select business segments and eyes the digital payment space that will offer some of the best opportunities over the next couple of years.

Retail demand for Islamic finance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the wider region keeps increasing.  Growth areas include structured hedging and investment products, project and aviation finance, equity-linked and greenfield project sukuk.

Global Finance magazine profiles the best Islamic Financial Institutions of 2016

QIB controls 43.5% of the Islamic banking market share in Qatar and 11.5% of the overall market and says that the long-term growth prospects remain promising.

Still finding its way onto the broader global stage, Islamic finance is expanding its reach and rising to new heights in delivering added value to consumer and business markets alike.

Saudi Arabia
Known as the Minister of Everything, deputy crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, the favored 30-year-old son of the geriatric king of Saudi Arabia, is a man on a mission.

We present a rare tour of the newly opened Iranian banking sector.  Westerners will be surprised by what they find—in both philosophy and performance—in this long-hidden area of the banking world.

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is learning to speak Arabic.