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.
Showing their strength in 2015, Abu Dhabi’s banks maintained both asset growth and profitability in the face of lower oil prices and regional unrest. External factors are expected to result in challenging market conditions in 2016, however, ample capital buffers and one of the most respected regulatory structures in the region mean that the...
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 year 2015 was a busy one for Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the capital’s new financial free zone, established in accordance with Federal Decree No (15) of 2013, Cabinet Resolution No (4) of 2013, Abu Dhabi Law No (4) of 2013 and Federal Law No (8) of 2004, which is the same federal law that led to the establishment of the Dubai Financial...
Recent decades have seen the GCC become increasingly connected to the wider global economy through trade and investment links. Over the years capital flows between the Gulf and the rest of the world have deepened significantly, a process first driven by trade and investment with the historically important blocs of Europe and North America, and...
Abu Dhabi’s evolution from desert oasis to modern metropolis has seen society undergo enormous changes over the past century, making the preservation of tradition and history an important and critical priority. Efforts to protect and promote Emirati culture and history have accelerated in recent years, as the National Archives moves to enact a...
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