Interview

mashreq continues to invest in their transaction banking offering. Rahul Jayakar Head mashreq’s Global Transaction Services, products and Trade, shares the bank’s philosophy and ideology to Cash & Trade. 1.What are the main challenges facing the UAE corporate CFOs when it comes to their cash and trade requirements, and where do you see Mashreq tackling these challenges from both product …

Riyad Bank aims to retain its lead in transaction banking through looking into the future. Here, Ehab M Al-Bakri Senior Vice President and the bank Transaction Service Department head explains its outlook to Cash & Trade Q.  Could you share with us an overview of Riyad Bank Transaction Services products, services and technology? At Riyad Bank Transaction Banking Solutions we …

One contracting giant at the leading edge of project work would like to see changes in the way bankers cater for the requirements of major players in the sector. PAUL MELLY reports From airports and office towers to high-speed rail lines, housing schemes, hospitals and power plants, Al Arrab Contracting Company (ACC) is engaged in projects across Saudi Arabia. At …

Lebanon remains a beacon of light in a sadly troubled region, partly due to the strength and reliability of its banking sector. As trade flows shift, regulatory requirements increase and regional uncertainties continue, Cash & Trade sat down with a number of Lebanese banks at a BNY Mellon-hosted roundtable in Beirut Cash & Trade: The Phoenicia Hotel here in Beirut …

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 …

Managing both cash management and trade finance as a seamlessly integrated transaction banking proposition is one of the secrets of ADIB’s success, Maki Vekinis, the bank’s head of global transaction services, tells Cash&Trade in an exclusive interview Would you elaborate on ADIB’s overall GTS strategy and explain the importance of ADIB’s cash and trade business, both locally and internationally. At …

ICIEC is poised for even greater advances. In an exclusive interview with its CEO, Dr Abdel Rahman Eltayeb Taha, our correspondent MUSHTAK PARKER explains what is in store. Where there is turmoil and transformation, there are opportunities. Export credit and investment insurance opportunities to be precise. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, one institution stands out to …

While at Sibos in Toronto, Cash&Trade caught up with Kah Chye Tan, global head of trade and working capital at Barclays Corporate. In an exclusive interview, he revealed that his aim is to help Barclays become the global trade bank Kah Chye Tan has a mission – and, if he succeeds, his bank, Barclays, will benefit. Currently, he is the …

Continued commitment to its customers, together with greater investment and product offering, have led to BBK in Bahrain winning two prestigious awards this year. In this interview, Cash & Trade talks to Rashad Akbari, Assistant General Manager of the Transactional Banking Division  What does BBK offer the Bahraini market in terms of cash management services? We provide the valuable combination …

SMEs are having a hard time of it because of the financial crisis and credit squeeze. LIZ SALECKA looks at their problems in accessing short-term bank finance Across the Gulf States, the financial crisis and resulting credit squeeze have had major implications for mid-market companies and small-to-medium sized (SME) family-owned businesses, which have since found it much harder to access …

MUSHTAK PARKER reports on 
a ‘man with a mission’, whose aim is to promote arbitration Sundra Rajoo is a man with a mission. As director of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA) he has been mandated by Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank, to promote arbitration in Islamic finance both in the region and beyond. Consistent with the …

Although this has been a difficult year for Bahrain, its banking industry has gone to great lengths to maintain reliable and competitive service. As PAUL MELLY reports, the country has commerce weaved into its culture. Lacking the oil and gas wealth of its neighbours, save in modest quantities, Bahrain has had to build its modern prosperity through industry and, above …

Middle Eastern corporates’ growing demand for structured financing, coupled with pressure on local banks to compete more effectively with their global counterparts, is spearheading the adoption of modern-day, automated trade finance solutions across the region. LIZ SALECKA reports   A number of local banks are responding to their corporate customers’ needs by investing in new platforms that provideonline access to …

In an exclusive interview, SAMIR SAHU, head of transaction banking services at Emirates NBD, talks to Cash & Trade What are the bank’s transaction strategy and its market? The bank’s transaction strategy has been to service, at an attractive price point, corporate and SME businesses through technology solutions that facilitate clients who give us their whole turnovers. This business was …

Due to the partnership model inherent in Shariah-compliant business models, Islamic banks traditionally enjoy a slightly more secure risk position than the majority of conventional banks regionally and worldwide. However, as investment in physical expansion and growth in the Middle East region continues its upward climb, and Islamic banking attracts more customers, the banks will find themselves susceptible to increased …

John Foster speaks to RAJ GUPTA, RESEARCHDIRECTOR OF THE CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES AND DERVATIVE MARKETS.  The global financial crisis has turned the previously cosy, stable and processorientated world of treasury management on its head. In the past, tried and tested practices, relationships and technologies were passed from generation to generation of CFOs and treasury managers, and the industry evolved …