Regional roundup

Keeping you up-to-date with the latest developments in the region and further afield

 

 1.Saudi Arabia

MoneyGram expands Middle  East presence with NCB ATM  remittance deal

National Commercial Bank (NCB), the  largest bank in the Middle East, is to offer MoneyGram’s international money  transfer service at 1400 aTM locations  in Saudi Arabia.

The agreement significantly expands  MoneyGram’s presence in the Kingdom,  which is seen as a leading global  remittance destination.

home to more than six million  expatriates, Saudi Arabia saw  remittances grow to more than $17bn in  2006, according to the World Bank.

Safe and simple mioney transfers are  vital for expatriates who frequently need  to send money home to their families  who depend on it arriving swiftly.

Anthony  Ryan, president and  CEO of MoneyGram international,  comments: “Saudi Arabia is the second  largest send market in the world behind  the united states, and our alliance  with a premier financial institution  like national Commercial Bank  represents a significant opportunity for  MoneyGram’s expansion plans in the  Middle East.”

MoneyGram has been operating in  Saudi Arabia since 1998 and manages its  services to the region from an office in  Dubai.

These transfers at NCB will be sent over NCB’s Quickpay platform. Initially, only send services will be available.

2.Dubai

NASDAQ Dubai taps SunGard for equity derivatives trading

SunGard has extended the capabilities of its GMI system to facilitate processing of equity derivatives traded on NASDAQ Dubai, the Middle East’s international stock exchange. GMi is a clearing and accounting solution for exchange traded derivatives, futures and options.

SunGard’s GMI helps NASDAQ Dubai customers and exchange  members to readily trade and process  business on the new exchange. GMI has been customized to support futures, futures options, stock futures, equity options, Contracts for differences  (CFDs), foreign exchange and dividends  listed instruments in the Middle east. it provides the automation firms require  to help trade and process transactions  from contract to settlement, providing  post-trade processing, margin  calculation and quick valuation of  derivative transactions for brokers and  their clients.

NASDAQ Dubai is the only United Arab Emirates exchange that trades  equity derivatives. it launched the  market in November 2008 by listing  futures on the FTSE NASDAQ Dubai  UAE 20 index and on 20 individual  stocks listed on NASDAQ Dubai, the  Dubai Financial Market and the Abu  Dhabi securities exchange. in April  2009 NASDAQ Dubai added an equity  options service .

3. Bahrain

National Bank of Bahrain H1 net profit marginally ahead

National Bank of Bahrain reported net profit of Bd25.60m ($68.09m)  for the 6 months through June 30,  compared to Bd25.57m($68.01m) for the  corresponding period last year.

net interest income rose to BD25.14m  ($66.86m) from BD22.70m ($60.37m),  while ‘other income’ fell to BD13.32m  ($35.43m) from BD15.42m ($41.01m)– principally due to a fall in income  from syndications and mutual fund  business on account of a slowdown  in market activities. Operating expenses meanwhile increased to  BD12.69m ($33.75m) from BD12.55m  ($33.38m) due to ‘expanding business  requirements’.   no major credit  deterioration was noted and therefore  no impairment provision for loans was  made during the period.

Loans and advances as at June  30 were 7.9% at BD1.15 bn ($3.07  bn). Customer deposits stood at  BD1.43bn ($3.81bn), compared to  BD1.37bn ($3.64bn).  The annualised  return on average equity of 23.6 %  during h1 2009 compared to 20.7 % in  the half of 2008.

Union National Bank, one of the  uae’s leading banks, has announced the  introduction of the interest in advance  deposit.

It enables account holders to receive interest on their deposits in advance  as and when they place the deposit  with unB, instead of at the time of  deposit maturity. Customers can book an interest in advance deposit for a  minimum amount of aed 100,000.  Customers can choose a period from a  range of 9 months to 24 months based  on their convenience.  Commenting  on the launch of unB’s latest product  offering, Mahmoud halawa, executive  Vice President & head of Business  Groups said: “The interest in advance  deposit account has been introduced  to provide our customers with an  attractive value-addition and is in line  with our philosophy of being ‘the bank  that cares’. The guaranteed return on  deposits at the time of placing their  deposit with us enables customers to  enjoy immediate liquidity…This latest  initiative underlines our commitment to  offer innovative products and services in  a bid to help our client base accomplish  their financial goals “, he added. The  launch of this latest product which is  primarily targeted at medium & high  net Worth individuals, is in line with  the unB’s multi dimensional approach  aimed at targeting all segments of the  uae community via various socioeconomic initiatives.

4. UAE

Customers can enjoy compliance with new regulations outlined by UAE Ministry of Labour

HSBC Bank Middle east  ltd  announced the official launch of the  new Payroll Card service, which will  allow customers to process salary  payments electronically while giving  their employees the benefit of security  Regional roundup  Keeping you up-to-date with the latest  developments in the region and further afield and the convenience of a debit card.  The service is being provided in  partnership with C3 Card, a company  specialising in prepaid card and payroll  services.

With this new service, companies  employing a large number of low wage  earners can ensure convenient and  timely payments of employee salaries.  The MasterCard prepaid card can be  used at ATMs across the uae and the  world. Card users can also swipe their  card at any enabled point of sale store  terminals to make purchases.

Paul edgar, head of Transaction  Banking, HSBC Bank Middle east,  says “Our new payroll product  further enhances our extensive menu  of business services. existing wage  payment methods have been fraught  with inefficiencies as well as posed  security issues. With our new and  innovative solution, customers can be  assured of making prompt payments in  an expedient manner, electronically.

“The Ministry of labour is in the  process of implementing the Wage  Protection system in order to protect  workers’ dues. We believe that the use  of a robust electronic payroll system  will have an essential role to play in  delivering this objective.in order to  help with usage and overcome first  time card user difficulties, hsBC  will work with its partners to provide  training support. user enquiries will  be attended to through a dedicated  telephone line available through the  C3 support lines in many languages  including english and hindi. Mobile  ATM vans may be made available  to visit large customer sites, if this  is requested as a part of the service  proposition.The payroll card is a Pin protected card and will have the  user’s name and passport/labour card  number imprinted on the card. The  user can access the funds anywhere  using any ATM connected to the  uae’s aTM network. With the new  Payroll Card service, HSBC has  revolutionised the banking experience  of low income earners enabling us  to provide our employees with a  more efficient and comfortable work  environment .