Banking and Finance Jared Kushner’s private equity firm backed by UAE and Qatari funds Sovereign wealth funds from the UAE and Qatar invested millions of dollars in former US president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s private equity firm, according to a news report. The UAE fund invested more than $200 million with Kushner’s Affinity Partners, while a Qatari entity put in an equivalent amount, the New York Times said, […] March 31, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey central bank says policy stance adequate to back recovery The Turkish central bank said on Thursday the current monetary policy stance was adequate to support recovery following last month’s earthquake by maintaining price stability and financial stability. In the minutes of last week’s policy committee meeting, where the central bank left its key rate unchanged at 8.5 percent, it said the effect of quake-driven […] March 31, 2023
Banking and Finance Egypt raises interest rates by 200 bps to tame inflation The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) raised its overnight interest rates by 200 basis points (bps) on Thursday following a meeting of its monetary policy committee (MPC), saying it aimed to bring high inflation into check. The bank set the lending rate at 19.25 percent and the deposit rate at 18.25 percent. The median forecast […] March 31, 2023
Banking and Finance Gulf financial centres slip down global ranking list Financial centres in the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain have fallen in the latest global index as their rivals in the US and Asia Pacific come out on top. Dubai and Abu Dhabi continue to take first and second places in the Middle East region, but they have both dropped down the overall league table. Dubai […] March 30, 2023
Banking and Finance US fintech expands to offer UAE startups bank accounts A US fintech is accepting applications to open bank accounts from venture capitalists and tech startups with entities formed in the UAE, a move local industry experts say will be a “wake-up call” to the Gulf’s banking sector. Online-only banks – known as neobanks – have been cashing in on the collapse of Silicon Valley […] March 30, 2023
Banking and Finance Saudi’s Al Rajhi Bank to raise $1bn via sustainable sukuk Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Bank is set to raise $1 billion with five-year sustainable Islamic bonds, according to a media report. The spread on the sukuk was set at 110 basis points (bps) over US Treasuries (UST), tightened from initial price guidance of around 150 bps over UST after demand topped $3.75 billion, Reuters reported, […] March 30, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey’s central bank approves 2022 dividend payout Turkey’s central bank decided to pay dividends from its 2022 accounting period to shareholders, including the treasury, it announced on Tuesday at its annual general meeting. The central bank profit stood at 72.02 billion lira ($3.77 billion), according to the country’s official gazette. Economists expect the central bank to transfer some 40 billion lira to […] March 29, 2023
Banking and Finance G20 watchdog to review lessons from recent bank rescues The G20’s financial stability board (FSB) said on Tuesday its members would review the lessons from recent actions by authorities in Switzerland, the United States and elsewhere to rescue ailing banks. Markets have been roiled by the collapse of US technology lender Silicon Valley Bank followed by the failures of other US regional lenders and […] March 29, 2023
Exclusive Banking and Finance Tax boon for wealth funds shows their value to UK, says minister The UK’s decision to scrap a planned tax on sovereign wealth funds highlights the importance the government places on Gulf investors, Britain’s investment minister has told AGBI. “I’m personally very pleased that we’ve decided to maintain the status quo,” said Dominic Johnson, a minister of state in the UK’s newly formed Department for Business & […] March 29, 2023
Banking and Finance Egypt faces pressure to devalue currency further The Egyptian pound lost ground on the black market again in recent days in a sign that halving its official value over the past year could still not be enough and the central bank may have to let it slide further. Despite its pledge in October to allow supply and demand determine exchange rates, the […] March 29, 2023
Banking and Finance Egypt central bank may hike interest rates to tame inflation Egypt’s central bank (CBE) is forecast to hike its overnight interest rates by 200 basis points (bps) on Thursday as it struggles to bring soaring inflation under control, a Reuters poll showed on Monday. After that meeting, the state statistics agency announced that annual inflation in January had surged to 25.8 percent and in February to 31.9 percent, […] March 29, 2023
Banking and Finance Kuwait sovereign fund to offload stake in Mercedes-Benz Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), a sovereign wealth fund, plans to reduce its stake in the German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz by selling 20 million shares. The Kuwaiti fund is the third-largest shareholder in Frankfurt-listed Mercedes-Benz. At price guidance of €69.27 ($18.86) per share, KIA may raise €1.385 billion ($1.5 billion), which will reduce its stake to […] March 29, 2023
Banking and Finance Ride-hailer Careem in talks with e& for super app investment Uber Technologies’ Middle East subsidiary Careem is in advanced talks with e&, formerly Emirates Telecommunications Group Company, to invest in its expansion into services beyond ride-hailing, five sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Careem began seeking outside investors last year to help finance its super app, which offers services outside its core ride-hailing […] March 29, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey’s banks hold internal stress tests ahead of May vote Big Turkish banks have launched internal stress tests against possible market shocks due to the May elections, and they are preparing for lower profits later in the year as a flurry of previous regulations bite, four industry executives said. The executives said the tests, conducted independently of yearly required reviews, are meant to weigh the […] March 28, 2023
Banking and Finance China spent $240bn bailing out ‘Belt & Road’ countries China spent $240 billion bailing out 22 developing countries between 2008 and 2021. The amount soared in recent years as more have struggled to repay loans spent building “Belt & Road” infrastructure, according to a study published Tuesday. Almost 80 percent of the rescue lending was made between 2016 and 2021, mainly to middle-income countries […] March 28, 2023
Banking and Finance Saudi’s Al Rajhi Bank plans dollar sustainable sukuk Al Rajhi Bank is planning to issue US dollar-denominated sustainable Islamic bond, as part of its international sukuk programme launched last year. Al Rajhi Capital, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Emirates NBD, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, KFH Capital and Standard Chartered are joint lead managers and bookrunners for the sukuk issuance, the Saudi-listed bank said in […] March 28, 2023
Banking and Finance UAE to benefit from US cryptocurrency brain drain Tightening regulations in the US to bring cryptocurrency and digital assets operators to heel could see talent and investment turn to the UAE. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been targeting the cryptocurrency industry, which its chair Gary Gensler referred to as a “Wild West”. At the same time the UAE is welcoming […] March 27, 2023
Banking and Finance SNB announces management changes after Credit Suisse fallout Ammar Al Khudairy has resigned as chairman of Saudi National Bank for “personal reasons”, it was announced on Monday, leading to a series of SNB management changes. SNB chief executive Saeed Mohammed Al Ghamdi has been appointed his successor, according to a statement on the Tadawul Saudi stock exchange. Talal Ahmed Al Khereiji, a graduate […] March 27, 2023
Banking and Finance Standard Chartered sells Jordan business as part of global strategy UK-based Standard Chartered will sell its business in Jordan to Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB), the banks said in a joint statement. Under the agreement, Standard Chartered’s corporate, commercial and institutional banking and consumer, private and business banking businesses in Jordan will be migrated to AJIB. All Standard Chartered Bank Jordan’s employees will be transferred […] March 27, 2023
Banking and Finance Swiss regulator mulls disciplinary action against Credit Suisse Swiss financial regulator Finma said it was considering whether to take disciplinary action against Credit Suisse managers after Switzerland’s second-largest bank had to be rescued last week by UBS. Finma president Marlene Amstad told Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag it was “still open” whether new proceedings would be started, but the regulator’s main focus was […] March 27, 2023
Analysis Banking and Finance A first as Dubai bank prices $600m sukuk for US firm Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank, has successfully priced a $600 million sukuk for New York-listed Air Lease Corporation. It marks the first sukuk issued by a US corporation. A sukuk is a Sharia-compliant financial certificate, similar to a bond in Western finance but that complies with Islamic religious law. The five-year sukuk saw robust demand, […] March 26, 2023
Banking and Finance Foreign investors test Turkey’s waters after years in the cold Scores of foreign investors are returning to Istanbul and Ankara after years in the cold for a flurry of meetings to understand whether Turkish elections could bring a tidal change for its economy and financial markets. According to several investors and bankers involved, large foreign lenders including BBVA and BNP Paribas organised trips and calls […] March 26, 2023
