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Banking & Finance

Banking news and finance news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

Banking & Finance overview

Banking & Finance news

Fatih Karahan, governor of Turkey's central bank, speaks during a press conference in Istanbul

Turkey raises interest rates for first time in a year

Turkey’s central bank raised its key lending rate for the first time in a year on Thursday, reversing a steady decline this year, on concerns of higher inflation in the coming months. The bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) increased its one-week repo auction rate to 46 percent on April 17 from 42.5 percent, the rate […]

Donald Trump DWF crypcocurrency

Abu Dhabi investor buys $25m in Trump crypto coins

DWF Labs, an investment company based in Abu Dhabi, has bought $25 million of a cryptocurrency linked to Donald Trump. The company describes itself as a next-generation Web3 investor and cryptocurrency trader. Web3 includes concepts such as decentralisation, blockchain technologies and token-based economics. It said in a statement that it bought $25 million of World […]

Dubai's financial district

Mashreq’s sukuk offer hits $3bn despite challenging markets

Mashreq, the UAE’s fifth-largest bank by assets, said its first sukuk issued since US reciprocal tariffs were announced was oversubscribed six times. The Dubai-listed bank raised $500 million through a five-year sukuk at a profit rate of 5.03 percent per annum.  The sukuk, rated “A” by global rating agency S&P, will be listed on Euronext Dublin.  […]

IDFC First Bank is to receive a big cash injection

Warburg Pincus and Adia to invest $877m in Indian bank

India’s IDFC First Bank will raise up to 75 billion rupees ($877 million) from affiliate companies of private equity group Warburg Pincus and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund, the lender said on Thursday. IDFC First Bank will issue Warburg Pincus, an existing investor, and Adia convertible shares, which, if fully converted, will give them a combined 15 percent […]

Body Part, Hand, Person

Remittances to Egypt rise as reforms instill confidence

Remittances from Egyptian expatriates rose for 11 consecutive months following the start of economic reforms introduced in March 2024. Overseas Egyptians sent home $20 billion between July and January — the first seven months of the 2024-2025 fiscal year — an increase of 81 percent from $11 billion a year ago, according to the Central […]

A closed bar in Istanbul. Turkey's economy has struggled with a depreciating lira and high interest rates

Turkey’s central bank records second-biggest ever loss

The Central Bank of Turkey lost 700 billion lira ($18 billion) last year, its second biggest loss ever after a record 2023. The loss came as the central bank made efforts to defend the Turkish lira while at the same time offering depositors higher interest rates on the local currency versus other currencies, paving the […]

The offices of Bank Muscat on Markzi Mutrah Al Tijari street in the Ruwi district of Muscat, Oman, on 7 August 2017.

Bank Muscat’s Q1 profit rises as the sector consolidates

First quarter net income at Bank Muscat, Oman’s largest bank by assets, rose 8 percent on higher interest revenue from both conventional and Islamic sharia-compliant activities. The rise comes as rival Sohar International Bank, the country’s second-largest bank by assets, seeks to take over a smaller rival, raising concerns about competition in the Omani banking […]

Architecture, Building, Office Building

Abu Dhabi fines crypto company $13m for ‘serious’ violations

Regulators at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) have fined crypto payment processor Hayvn, its former chief executive, and related entities nearly $13 million for violations and misconduct. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) investigation found “serious” breaches and misconduct by three related Hayvn companies and former CEO Christopher Flinos. A total fine of $8.9 million was […]

Africa's digital payments economy is expected to be worth $1.5 trillion by 2030

Morocco’s PayTic raises $4m for Africa expansion

PayTic, a Moroccan startup, has raised $4 million in a funding round and aims to expand into Africa, it said in a press statement on social media. PayTic, which has a presence in Europe and North America, works with banks and card issuers to simplify back-end processes such as chargebacks whereby a customer disputes a […]

An Al Ansari outlet. The company is exploring more acquisition opportunities in the GCC

Al Ansari says BFC buyout will lift revenues by a fifth 

Dubai-listed Al Ansari Financial Services expects a 13 percent rise in profits and a 20 percent increase in revenues following its acquisition of BFC Group Holdings, a competing money exchange business, the company CEO has said. “After completing the BFC deal, we have become the largest exchange company in the UAE and Bahrain and the […]

Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Qatar is investing heavily in the country

Indonesia and Qatar to set up $4bn joint fund

Indonesian sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia and Qatar Investment Authority will set up a joint fund worth $4 billion to invest in so-called domestic priority sectors in the southeast Asian country. These include food and energy security, downstream processing, digital infrastructure, healthcare and tourism, Indonesian state-run Antara news agency reported, quoting Danantara chief investment officer […]

Last year’s Dubai floods, submerged roads, homes and airports

Dubai floods third most costly disaster of 2024, says insurer

The financial hit from last year’s Dubai floods, when the heaviest rains in the UAE’s history submerged roads, homes and airports, made it the third most costly disaster in the world in 2024, one insurance company has announced. Hannover Re, the world’s third-largest reinsurer, booked €138 million ($150 million) of losses from the April 2024 […]

A customer uses a Bank Muscat ATM. Banks in Oman recorded a 15 percent rise in profits in 2024

Takeover raises Oman bank competition concerns

Oman’s second-largest lender by assets, Sohar International Bank, has secured approval from a smaller rival, Ahli Bank, for it to acquire Ahli. The takeover comes as concerns are raised that consolidation in the country’s banking sector could limit choice and competition, and raise costs for customers. Ahli Bank, which was set up in 2007, said […]

QNB's QAR4.26bn ($1.17bn) net profit for Q1 was seen as a 'healthy result'

Qatar National Bank Q1 profit spurs share recovery

Qatar National Bank (QNB), the Middle East and Africa’s largest bank by assets, reported a slight increase in first-quarter net profit on higher net interest income which helped offset its domestic tax bill. Government-run QNB made a net profit of QAR4.26 billion ($1.17 billion) in the three months to March 31, up 2.8 percent versus […]

Sanabil SILQ

Sanabil leads $110m funding for Saudi-Bangladesh startup

Sanabil Investments, a venture capital arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has made its first investment in South Asia. The PIF unit and the US venture capital fund Valar Ventures, which was co-founded by Peter Thiel, the co-founder of Paypal, are jointly leading the $110 million funding round for SILQ Group, a new e-commerce platform, […]

Saudi minister of industry and mineral resources Bandar Al-Khorayef at the inauguration of Lucid Motor's first EV manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia

PIF-owned Lucid raises new funds to repay debt

US electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors, majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has raised $1.1 billion in new funding to repay existing debt. The EV maker has received $1.1 billion through convertible senior notes, debt which can be converted into shares, due in 2030, according to a company statement.  Lucid will use $936 […]

A man walks past an installation celebrating HSBC's 160th anniversary at its Hong Kong offices. The bank was the highest investment fee earner in the Mena region

HSBC dominates as Mena investment banking fees soar

Investment banking fee revenue in the Middle East and North Africa soared during the first quarter thanks to record debt arrangements, increased mergers and acquisitions and more initial public offerings. The industry’s regional earnings underline the growing importance of the Mena region to international banks, although the revenue from fees remains a fraction of those […]

Lebanon Riad Salameh

Judge in Lebanon paves way for ex-central bank chief indictment

A judge in Lebanon has published a court decision in the embezzlement charges against the country’s former central bank chief, Riad Salameh, paving the way for an indictment. Judge Bilal Halawi published a “presumptive decision” concluding that Salameh, who served as central bank governor for 30 years before his term ended in disgrace in July 2023, had engaged […]