Credit cards are a key tool for financial institutions battling for market share in the UAE’s crowded banking sector. In Abu Dhabi the appetite for plastic remains strong despite the recent opening of a federal credit bureau, which has made it harder for customers to obtain cards from multiple issuers.
Thanks in large part to the dirham’s peg with the dollar, the record low interest rates at the US Federal Reserve have meant that Abu Dhabi’s banks have operated in a highly liquid market. This scenario has been further strengthened by the plentiful supply of deposits flooding into the UAE from countries such as Syria, Egypt and Tunisia....
The rise of sukuks (Islamic bonds) as an alternative to conventional bonds has been an interesting trend in the Islamic financial services (IFS) sector. Starting from its initial flourishing in Malaysia and the GCC, the sharia-compliant instrument is gaining popularity in its traditional markets, and is being viewed with increased interest in...
It has been a strong year for Abu Dhabi’s Islamic financial services (IFS) sector, which is successfully overcoming the systemic challenges that had arisen during the 2008-09 global economic crisis. Robust financial results from the emirate’s two sharia-compliant banks, a continuation of innovative sukuk (sharia-compliant bonds), issuance and the...
Lending to the nation’s construction and real estate sector rose markedly in 2013, according to data from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBU). In December 2012 the total amount of outstanding credit to the sector stood at Dh129.2bn ($35.2bn) – comfortably within the range mandated in the wake of the global economic crisis and deterioration of real estate markets in Abu...
Another year of steady asset growth has seen the UAE banking sector retain its position as the largest in the GCC and, as usual, the Abu Dhabi-based component has played an important part in the expansion. Having successfully emerged from the global economic turbulence of recent years, the sector is on a trajectory of loan-book growth and sustainable profits. It is now...
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