Banking

Despite undergoing a profitability squeeze in 2016, Abu Dhabi’s banking sector nonetheless demonstrated its ability to expand its asset base during a period of difficult economic conditions. A recovery in deposit growth means that liquidity concerns have abated, while the stabilisation of oil prices and continued expansion of the non-oil economy brought cheer at the outset of 2017. The sector also appears to be on the brink of a long-anticipated phase of consolidation, in which a number of its biggest names are contemplating joining forces and reshaping the local market.

This chapter contains an interview with Khalifa Mohammed Al Kindi, Chairman, Central Bank of the UAE.