2015

Innovation and diversification have provided sustained and significant global growth opportunities for Sukuk and the investor base is expected to widen dramatically in the coming years. This was one of the conclusions announced when the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and CNBC, the business and financial news network, hosted an international panel of leading Islamic finance experts to discuss …

Qatar National Bank (QNB) is looking forward to exploring potential opportunities arising from the establishment of the first Middle East “clearing hub” for Chinese currency. The regional clearing hub concept was one of the key provisions of the financial agreements signed between Qatar and the People’s Republic of China following talks between the countries last year. With the clearing centre …

Middle East banks are set to increase their share of global transaction banking revenues by at least 25 per cent, according to a survey conducted by iGTB, the world’s first complete transaction banking platform. The iGTB Middle East Client Advisory Event brought together 68 elite industry thought leaders for a conference on The decade of Transaction Banking: What share of …

PAUL MELLY speaks to a top Saudi finance chief who would like to see banks provide a trio of improvements This is an interesting time for the Saudi Arabian economy. With oil prices sharply down, the Kingdom must rely on the deeper strengths and diversity it has built up over the past three decades. It is a country with huge …

ALEXANDER R. MALAKET, president of OPUS Advisory Services International Inc. and author of Financing Trade and International Supply Chains, looks at transformational competition in the financing of international trade Trade finance has been in existence for a very long time, so long in fact that one might have argued justifiably until about 2005 that the industry suffered from several decades …

Jon Richman, head of Trade and Financial Supply Chain Americas, Global Transaction Banking, Deutsche Bank, discusses the importance of one day’s workflow and the value that financial supply chain solutions can bring As recently as 15 years ago, the market was still beginning to become acquainted with financial supply chain programmes (FSC); then came an era of economic turbulence and …

CHRIS DARK, president, international, C2FO, looks at a finance problem that has now attracted the attention of politicians Economies currently suffer from the paradox of having too much liquidity in certain areas, while having too little in others. Banks, awash with cash, are reluctant to accept deposits; larger corporations are stockpiling cash but running out of options of where to …

Representatives of 18 Middle Eastern banks, from the UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, recently discussed the outlook for transaction banking in the region, and how they can grow their share of global revenues by at least 25 per cent   Sixty-eight senior bankers from across the Middle East gathered at iGTB’s client advisory event at the Park Hyatt in …

In contrast to some other MENA economies, Saudi Arabia continues to have a positive balance of trade and growth momentum. CAROLINE MAGINN reports on what has been another record year Trade finance and corporate banking in the KSA had another record year in 2014 with total trade-related contingent liabilities and corporate assets, liabilities, operating income and net income all registering …

MUSHTAK PARKER, reports on an industry very much on the up These are exciting times for the estimated $2.2 trillion global Islamic financial industry. First, it was the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision, which in 2013 okayed for the first time qualifying Sukuk to be included in the High Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA) universe under its Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) …

Dubai-Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS), a leading provider of cash management and trade services in the region, recently hosted a client seminar entitled The Middle East – Africa Expanding Corridor: Understanding the Potential and Capitalizing on the Growth focusing on Citi’s unique footprint and transaction services capabilities across the Middle East and Africa. Held at the Palace Hotel in …

Dear Reader, If there is an overarching theme to this issue, it is how treasury teams are staying on top of any challenges that they come up against despite finding their tasks multiplying. As is made clear in our lead article, it is vital that treasury teams are prepared for every eventuality in what is considered an unpredictable economic climate. …

Equity markets in MENA are to have a challenging 2015, according to a National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) report entitled Global Investment Outlook – 2015, written by Gary Dugan, global wealth chief investment officer and head of investment strategy, assisted by a team of other experts at the bank. It says that “lower-than-expected oil prices will continue to adversely …

SWIFT has announced the extension of its Sanctions Screening service to support all messages used in financial transactions, regardless of format or financial network. Users can now screen all transaction formats, including SEPA (Single European Payments Area) and Fedwire payments, and transactions sent over networks other than SWIFT. The extended service also enables greater flexibility and back-office integration, addressing the …

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group, recently announced that it has provided $80m reinsurance support to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) for the latter’s political risk insurance policy to Apache Corporation. The policy was issued to Apache to cover its investment in Egypt against …