Financial Services

THE COMPANY: Bank Al Etihad was established in 1978 and is currently the seventh-largest bank in Jordan in terms of assets. In the year 2011, the bank made the headlines with a major rebranding campaign that relaunched the company’s corporate image and changed its name from Union Bank to Bank Al Etihad....

Having emerged from the global financial crisis in good health, Jordan’s banking sector provided much-needed economic stability through 2011. As the government looked to finance a weak fiscal position, local banks had ample liquidity to provide credit and to maintain levels of lending to the private sector. The sector currently faces challenges in...

The growth of Islamic banking in Jordan is bringing several economic benefits for both customers and the country. A greater variety of sharia-compliant products and services, as well as increased geographical penetration throughout the kingdom, has helped mobilise large amounts of savings that otherwise would not interact with the banking system....

A combination of low economic growth, fiscal tightening and high interest rates produced relatively weak results on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) in 2011, with low levels of trading and new entrants. Despite reduced market sentiment, bright spots included an increase in the share of foreign investment and a growing sense that many of the blue chip...

Given the current economic situation, the private and public sectors have to rethink their strategies on stimulating economic growth. With rising energy and commodity costs, the pressure is on to find solutions to serious economic challenges. There is no doubt that addressing unemployment and the need for job creation are at the heart of the...