UAE: Abu Dhabi Financial Services

The UAE is often said to be over-banked, with 23 local banks and 28 foreign institutions currently licensed to operate in the nation. To be sure, banking density in the UAE – at 11.9 branches per thousand people, according to data from the World Bank – is high compared to some markets in the region. Yet many of its neighbours have developed far more densely populated...

Home to some of the UAE’s most prominent Islamic banks and takaful (sharia-compliant insurance) operators, Abu Dhabi has long been a regional centre for Islamic financial services. Strong capital bases have raised the possibility of international expansion in recent years,...

Thanks to a competitive domestic banking market, the UAE’s relatively small population of around 9.2m and plentiful capital reserves, Abu Dhabi’s Islamic lenders are well positioned for international expansion. And in this regard, the two Abu Dhabi-based Islamic banks have already established a track record of success.

In 2012 Abu Dhabi’s insurance sector posted continued growth on the back of increased spending from consumers, corporations and the government. Across the UAE, gross written premiums (GWPs) reached Dh26.3bn ($7.16bn) in 2012, up 9.5% from 2011, according to the 2012 report from the UAE’s Insurance Authority (IA). The federation retained its...

With new leadership and a slate of reforms under discussion, the insurance regulator is ramping up efforts to manage and support the insurance sector. Since 2007, when the UAE’s Insurance Authority (IA) was established, the local industry has expanded at a steady clip. Gross written premiums (GWPs) for general insurance grew 37.9% in 2007, 30.7...

FIRST GULF BANK (FGB): With assets of Dh182.9bn ($49.7bn) at the close of the first half of 2013, FGB is the third-largest bank in Abu Dhabi and the largest privately owned lender. Established in 1978, the historically retail-focused lender had developed a universal set of services,...