April 18, 2019

DUBAI, 17th April, 2019 (WAM) -- Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) reported a 21.6 percent year-on-year net profit increase in Q1-2019 on the back of higher revenues.

According to a CBD statement today, the net profits of the UAE’s lender rose to AED340 million in Q1-19 from AED 280 million ($76 million) during corresponding period last year, Meanwhile, net revenues grew 17.6%, logging AED 774 million in the first three months of 2019, compared to AED 658 million in the prior-year period.

The bank’s operating expenses retreated to AED 206 million in Q1-19"...

April 17, 2019

Bank of America reported its first-quarter 2019 financial results today. The news release, supplemental filing and investor presentation can be accessed in the following ways: This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190416005489/en/ Bank of America newsroom at https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com Bank of America Investor Relations website at http://investor.bankofamerica.com Business Wire’s news webpage at http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/news Investor Conference Call information Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan and Chief Financial Officer Paul Donofrio will discuss the financial results in a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET today. For a listen-only connection to the conference call, dial 1.877.200.4456 (U.S.) or 1.785.424.1732 (international), and the conference ID is 79795. Please dial in 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. Investors can also listen to a live audio webcast of the conference call and view the presentation slides by visiting the “Events & Presentations” section of the company’s Investor Relations website. Replay information for Investor Conference......

April 17, 2019

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO) announced today that it has acquired a majority stake in Vigeo Eiris, a global leader in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) research, data and assessments. The acquisition furthers Moody’s objective of promoting global standards for ESG for use by market participants.

With products and capabilities based on ESG assessments and an extensive ESG database, Vigeo Eiris offers specialized research and decision-making tools for sustainable and ethical investments.

Vigeo Eiris will continue to be headquartered in Paris,"...

April 15, 2019

The banking sector in Dubai should do more to support entrepreneurs and SMEs by establishing budgets for SME ‘support systems’, according to Hisham Al Shirawi, the chairman of the Dubai Startup Hub Advisory Committee.

Speaking at the Global Business Forum Latin America 2019 in Panama City, Al Shirawi said that “the entire ecosystem” of support for SMEs and entrepreneurs needs to be in place.

In the case of Dubai, he said the government first needed to take easily implemented steps.

“[Earlier]"...

April 15, 2019

Emirates NBD, Dubai's largest lender, confirmed on Sunday that it has exercised the greenshoe option by selling 15 per cent of the IPO of Network International - the largest payment-processing firm across the Middle East and Africa - to Citigroup Global Markets Limited.

In a statement to the Dubai Financial Market, the bank said it has finalised the sale of 15.3 million over-allocated shares at 0.435 pence per share. The gross proceeds from the sale amounted to 66.55 million pounds, the statement added.

Greenshoe option is a clause used during an IPO wherein the"...

April 14, 2019

Damac Properties has raised £175 million (Dh840 million) loan from three banks for its London project, the developer said in a statement on Saturday.

Barclays Bank, which acted as the UK lead bank, Burgan Bank and Emirates NBD raised funds for the Damac Tower at Nine Elms project in London.

Niall McLoughlin, senior vice-president, Damac Properties, said this is the final financing package required for"...

April 13, 2019

The international arm of Dubai-based developer Damac has secured a development financing package of £175 million ($229.4 million) for its landmark project, Damac Tower at Nine Elms, in London.

The funds from three major lenders including Barclays Bank, which acted as the UK lead bank, Burgan Bank, and Emirates NBD, completes the financing of the luxury tower, Damac International’s premiere development outside of the Middle East.

The package is matched by significant equity commitment from the developer, a statement said.

“In a vote of"...

April 11, 2019

SHARJAH, 10th April, 2019 (WAM) -- Shareholders of Invest Bank, the Bank, a Sharjah-based commercial bank, today approved a strategic investment by the Government of Sharjah and a reorganization of the Board of Directors, including the appointment of Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Qasimi as Chairman.

The Government of Sharjah’s AED 1.115 billion strategic investment is being made on a commercial basis, with the objective of creating long-term value from Invest Bank's underlying profitability and standing as an operationally-strong financial institution with a loyal customer base across the UAE.

Through"...

April 10, 2019

• Huge opportunities for better business intelligence and across a range of activities carried out by accountants

• Adoption of machine learning needs to be based on legitimate business need rather than just wanting to be seen as using AI

• Ethical challenges lie ahead - accountants need to align professional competence and due care with AI and machine learning

In the UAE, 40 per cent of accountants currently see AI as all or mostly hype, while 55 per cent say that in three years’ time it will become a reality.

The findings"...

April 8, 2019

UAE banks are continuing to set the bar when it comes to technology adoption in the region, with a new focus on offering customer services through social media apps.

Dubai's largest bank, Emirates NBD, and its Shariah-compliant unit, Emirates Islamic, have introduced 'WhatsApp Banking', which allows customers to check their account balances, the last five transactions of their account or credit cards, credit card mini statement, temporarily block or unblocking cards, new cheque book requests, as well as foreign exchange rates.

To subscribe to this service,"...