Chloe Domat

Equity-based real estate platform Yielders is the first Islamic fintech to receive accreditation from Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority.

The Lebanese economy was hit hard in recent years, mainly by spillover from Syria’s crisis. However, the financial sector has proven resilient and domestic political stability offers renewed prospects for growth.   

Doing business in Egypt and Turkey is not for the fainthearted. Bank Audi’s vice chairman and group strategy director says success in these markets is about being able to absorb short-term shocks.
 

Tunisian Bank Receives ISO 27001 Certification

Regional political and economic uncertainty has not impeded Lebanese banks’ expansion into countries such as Jordan, Egypt, and even Iraq, says BLOM Bank’s chairman and general manager.

Is Lebanon about to become the Middle East’s next oil and gas producer? After years of political deadlock, the government is about to reopen bids for offshore hydrocarbon exploration.

Gulf countries are encouraging local banks to merge and several have done so. In the UAE, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank are in the process of creating the largest bank in the Middle East. 

The Kingdom of Morocco now allows participative finance. On January 2 the central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib, issued authorizations for five banks to begin commercializing shariah-compliant products and services. 

In early 2017 the Commercial Bank of Dubai will launch CBD NOW, the UAE’s first digital-only bank. The new bank is based entirely online and will offer all the services a regular bank does. 

After two years of a political vacuum, Lebanon finally elected Michel Aoun president. Under the constitution, however, the head of state has little power, and his election sparks little hope. 

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 ...

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.