July 11, 2020

As the crisis engulfing his business empire deepened, Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty met with Bank of Baroda officials in mid-March to discuss the $250 million he and his firms owed.

The loans were granted on the strength of Shetty's reputation as a billionaire and his businesses, in particular, NMC Health, the Middle East-focused hospital group he made his fortune from, according to court filings.

Borrowing on the basis of reputation, known as 'name lending', and taking on a large exposure to one person or entity is not unusual in the Gulf region despite previous"...

July 9, 2020

ABU DHABI, 8th July, 2020 (WAM) -- First Abu Dhabi Bank, FAB, has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, MoHRE, to launch a unified payment solution for domestic workers. The solution is designed to facilitate monthly salary transfers and ensure domestic workers across the UAE are paid in a transparent and cashless manner where earnings are deposited directly on to their cards, which are fully integrated and linked to the payit wallet.

Under the agreement signed, FAB is launching an exclusive pre-paid card ‘Dwallet’ which will enable users to have instant access to their wages in a safe and secure"...

July 8, 2020

E-commerce has reached new heights around the world, as more consumers are going online to make secure, touch-free purchases across various merchants and platforms. Now, it’s more important than ever that the online checkout experience is seamless and consistent across all types of digital channels and cards. Today, American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa announced they are each beginning technical preparations for global expansion of the Click to Pay online checkout – based on the EMV® Secure Remote Commerce industry standard – in additional geographies including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab"...

July 8, 2020

The UAE banking sector is well-capitalised and resilient to absorb significant macro-financial shocks, the Central Bank said on Tuesday.

The apex bank said the UAE banking system entered 2020 from a strong position despite the significant uncertainties from the Covid-19 pandemic.

'Capital ratios and liquidity buffers of the banking sector remained adequate and well above regulatory requirements. The banking system remained profitable with improved cost-efficiency benefitting from efficiency gains related to recent mergers in the sector,' the central bank said"...

July 8, 2020

ABU DHABI, 7th July, 2020 (WAM) -- The Central Bank of the UAE, CBUAE, has published its Financial Stability Report, FSR, which provides information, analysis and an assessment of the resilience and matters that require additional support in the banking and financial system in the UAE promoting public understanding and transparency.

The report covers macro-financial conditions, regulatory developments, assessments of the banking and finance sector, as well as assessments of payment systems, capital markets and the insurance sector.

According to the report, the UAE"...

July 7, 2020

The UAE Central Bank said on Monday it would introduce a new overnight deposit facility as of July 12 to enable conventional banks operating in the UAE to deposit their surplus liquidity at the apex bank on an overnight basis.

In a statement, the CBUAE said the introduction of the Overnight Deposit Facility (ODF) is the first step towards implementation of the new 'Dirham Monetary Framework' announced earlier this year.

'The ODF shall be the prime facility for managing surplus liquidity in the UAE banking sector prior to the launch of the Monetary Bills"...

March 11, 2020

DP World has announced across-the-board reductions in licence registration and administration costs for companies operating in its flagship Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) as well as for new investors.

The far-reaching Jafza Customer Support Initiative is designed to slash business-related fees by between 50-70 percent for registration, licensing and related administrative functions.

DP World said the initiative will immediately assist more than the 7,500 businesses that operate out of Jafza and hundreds of new businesses attracted by the free zone’s plug and play"...

March 11, 2020

ABU DHABI, 10th March, 2020 (WAM) -- The total value of fund transfers among the UAE's banks grew 6.9 percent YoY to around AED1.8 trillion in the first two months of 2020, according to figures released recently by CBUAE.

The apex bank said the banking fund transfers hit AED 1.2 trillion in the reference period, while transfers between individual customers reached AED596.3 bn.

The transactions are made through the UAE Fund Transfer System, UAEFTS, that enables the lenders to conduct all interbank local fund transfers.

On"...

March 11, 2020

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, on Tuesday visited Emirates NBD's Head Office along with Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and President of the Dubai International Financial Centre.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah; Sheikh Sorour bin Mohamed Al Nahyan; and Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates NBD, also visited the head office.

Sheikh Hamdan said: 'Emirates NBD is a pioneer in the"...

March 10, 2020

UAE-based payment solutions provider Network International on Monday said its Middle East business expanded by more than nine percent during 2019 on the back of more transactions and cross-selling.

The company said revenues in the Middle East rose 9.2 percent compared to 2018 while its business in Africa grew by more than 20 percent, boosted by new customers.

Profit from continuing operations increased by 26.3 percent, reflecting growth across the business and no impairment charge recorded in the current year, a statement said.

Whilst"...