Banking

Against a backdrop of sluggish global economic growth and ongoing tensions in the region, Qatar’s banking sector is proving to be strong and resilient, with growth in assets and profits reported by nearly all of the country’s listed institutions at the end of 2019. With a strong pipeline of major development project financing over the short term, against a backdrop of strong and sustained growth in recent years, Qatar’s banking sector can anticipate profits and success well into the future. A merger involving one of its oldest conventional lenders to form the country’s third-largest Islamic bank suggests a considerable appetite for sharia-compliant facilities. This chapter contains interviews with Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani, Governor, Qatar Central Bank; Abdulla Mubarak Al Khalifa, Group CEO, Qatar National Bank; and Joseph Abraham, Group CEO, Commercial Bank of Qatar.