Company Insights Mashreq Banking & Finance Mashreq Overview Founded in 1967, Mashreq is the UAE’s oldest bank. As well as traditional banking, including Islamic finance, Mashreq offers online banking and ecommerce services. Citizens resident in the UAE can access instant personal loans through the Mashreq Neo app. Mashreq operates in more than 10 other countries, with corporate banking businesses in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and India, corporate and retail banking in Egypt, and foreign exchange businesses in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. It also has branches in New York, London and Hong Kong. Mashreq says it values social responsibility and is committed to sustainability, operating a corporate social responsibility programme since 2011. The company also says it practises “an active and dynamic Emiratisation strategy”. Mashreq is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), with major shareholders including Dubai’s Saif Al Ghurair Investment Group with 41.75 percent and Abdullah Ahmed Al Ghurair Investment Company with 31 percent. Mashreq’s subsidiaries include Mashreq Al Islami, Mashreq Securities, Mashreq Capital, Shorouq Commodities Trading and Sukoon Insurance. It also owns tech management firm Mindscape and loans company Osool. In 2024 Mashreq sold a 65 percent stake in its IDFAA Payments subsidiary – more commonly known as NeoPay – in a deal worth $385 million to Bahrain’s Arcapita Group and Turkish fintech company Dgpays. Mashreq News Banking & Finance Mashreq sells majority stake in NeoBank in $385m deal Mashreq Bank has sold a 65 percent stake in its subsidiary IDFAA Payments, more commonly known as NeoPay, in a deal worth $385 million. The Dubai-listed lender sold the stake to Bahrain-headquartered alternative asset manager Arcapita Group Holdings Limited and Turkish fintech company Dgpays SARL, according to a bourse filing. It said Mashreq would retain […] September 13, 2024 Banking & Finance Qatar Islamic Bank sukuk three times oversubscribed Qatar Islamic Bank, the Gulf state’s largest Islamic lender, has raised $750 million through a new sukuk (Islamic bond) issue. The five-year unsecured sukuk was priced at 100 basis points over US Treasuries at 4.485 percent, the lowest rate achieved by a lender in the GCC, the lender said in a statement. The sukuk order […] September 11, 2024 Finance Bank of Sharjah readies for new dollar bond sale Bank of Sharjah is preparing to issue potential five-year USD-denominated bonds, with investor meetings starting from August 30, a news report said. The Abu Dhabi-listed lender has appointed 11 banks as joint lead managers and bookrunners, Reuters reported. These include Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (DIFC Branch), Bank ABC, Citi, Doha […] September 1, 2024 Banking & Finance Bad loan provisions drop markedly at UAE banks Most of the UAE’s top banks have significantly reduced how much they put aside to cover bad loans, in an indication of a generally benign economy and expectations of growth stretching into next year. During April and June this year, banks set aside AED1.3 billion ($350 million) in net loan loss provisions (LLPs) – the […] August 22, 2024 Banking & Finance Mashreq’s earnings up as loans and deposits rise Dubai-listed lender Mashreq said its net profit rose 14 percent year on year to AED4 billion ($1.1 billion) in the first six months of 2024 on higher interest income, business expansion and minimal risk costs. Net profit before tax grew 24 percent to AED4.5 billion. Net interest income increased 17 percent year on year to […] July 26, 2024 EXCLUSIVE Artificial Intelligence AI regulations double investment costs, says Mashreq Bank Differing rules surrounding artificial intelligence and the lack of a global regulatory environment is doubling the cost of new investments and complicating business expansion, a leading UAE financial institution has revealed. Amith Rajan, executive vice-president at Mashreq Bank, told AGBI that a “patchwork” AI regulatory landscape has prevented the bank from entering some countries, and […] July 11, 2024 Banking & Finance Mashreq explores presence in India’s new economic zone UAE lender Mashreq is exploring setting up an office in India’s special economic zone, according to a media report. The bank is exploring opportunities beyond its current footprint, Tarek El Nahas, group head of international banking at Mashreq told Moneycontrol, an Indian financial news portal. The prospect of setting up a presence in the Gujarat […] May 23, 2024 Finance Aldar prepares for new 10-year green Islamic bonds Aldar Properties, the largest developer in Abu Dhabi, has appointed banks for its US-dollar-denominated 10-year green Islamic bond, according to a news report. HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank will lead as joint global coordinators, Reuters reported, citing a bank document. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First […] May 8, 2024 Real Estate Dubai mortgage holders squeezed by end of low fixed rates Purchasing a home in Dubai for AED2 million ($544,600) in 2021 meant manageable monthly mortgage payments of about AED7,600, at a 2 percent interest rate secured for three years. With these fixed-rate contracts now expiring, home owners have told AGBI that banks are rolling over to rates as high as 7 percent, resulting in monthly […] March 21, 2024 Analysis Manufacturing Make it in the Emirates ‘needs more SMEs’ More than AED120 billion ($33 billion) has been invested by UAE-based companies to develop hundreds of new product lines under the country’s “Make it in the Emirates” (MIITE) campaign. As the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology prepares to host its third forum on local manufacturing, latest statistics show that the number of MIITE products […] February 29, 2024 Posts navigation 1 2 … 6 Next
Banking & Finance Mashreq sells majority stake in NeoBank in $385m deal Mashreq Bank has sold a 65 percent stake in its subsidiary IDFAA Payments, more commonly known as NeoPay, in a deal worth $385 million. The Dubai-listed lender sold the stake to Bahrain-headquartered alternative asset manager Arcapita Group Holdings Limited and Turkish fintech company Dgpays SARL, according to a bourse filing. It said Mashreq would retain […] September 13, 2024
Banking & Finance Qatar Islamic Bank sukuk three times oversubscribed Qatar Islamic Bank, the Gulf state’s largest Islamic lender, has raised $750 million through a new sukuk (Islamic bond) issue. The five-year unsecured sukuk was priced at 100 basis points over US Treasuries at 4.485 percent, the lowest rate achieved by a lender in the GCC, the lender said in a statement. The sukuk order […] September 11, 2024
Finance Bank of Sharjah readies for new dollar bond sale Bank of Sharjah is preparing to issue potential five-year USD-denominated bonds, with investor meetings starting from August 30, a news report said. The Abu Dhabi-listed lender has appointed 11 banks as joint lead managers and bookrunners, Reuters reported. These include Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (DIFC Branch), Bank ABC, Citi, Doha […] September 1, 2024
Banking & Finance Bad loan provisions drop markedly at UAE banks Most of the UAE’s top banks have significantly reduced how much they put aside to cover bad loans, in an indication of a generally benign economy and expectations of growth stretching into next year. During April and June this year, banks set aside AED1.3 billion ($350 million) in net loan loss provisions (LLPs) – the […] August 22, 2024
Banking & Finance Mashreq’s earnings up as loans and deposits rise Dubai-listed lender Mashreq said its net profit rose 14 percent year on year to AED4 billion ($1.1 billion) in the first six months of 2024 on higher interest income, business expansion and minimal risk costs. Net profit before tax grew 24 percent to AED4.5 billion. Net interest income increased 17 percent year on year to […] July 26, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Artificial Intelligence AI regulations double investment costs, says Mashreq Bank Differing rules surrounding artificial intelligence and the lack of a global regulatory environment is doubling the cost of new investments and complicating business expansion, a leading UAE financial institution has revealed. Amith Rajan, executive vice-president at Mashreq Bank, told AGBI that a “patchwork” AI regulatory landscape has prevented the bank from entering some countries, and […] July 11, 2024
Banking & Finance Mashreq explores presence in India’s new economic zone UAE lender Mashreq is exploring setting up an office in India’s special economic zone, according to a media report. The bank is exploring opportunities beyond its current footprint, Tarek El Nahas, group head of international banking at Mashreq told Moneycontrol, an Indian financial news portal. The prospect of setting up a presence in the Gujarat […] May 23, 2024
Finance Aldar prepares for new 10-year green Islamic bonds Aldar Properties, the largest developer in Abu Dhabi, has appointed banks for its US-dollar-denominated 10-year green Islamic bond, according to a news report. HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank will lead as joint global coordinators, Reuters reported, citing a bank document. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First […] May 8, 2024
Real Estate Dubai mortgage holders squeezed by end of low fixed rates Purchasing a home in Dubai for AED2 million ($544,600) in 2021 meant manageable monthly mortgage payments of about AED7,600, at a 2 percent interest rate secured for three years. With these fixed-rate contracts now expiring, home owners have told AGBI that banks are rolling over to rates as high as 7 percent, resulting in monthly […] March 21, 2024
Analysis Manufacturing Make it in the Emirates ‘needs more SMEs’ More than AED120 billion ($33 billion) has been invested by UAE-based companies to develop hundreds of new product lines under the country’s “Make it in the Emirates” (MIITE) campaign. As the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology prepares to host its third forum on local manufacturing, latest statistics show that the number of MIITE products […] February 29, 2024
