Middle East: Special focus

September 19, 2014

In our September edition, Euromoney explores the challenges and opportunities for some of the world’s leading financial institutions in the Middle East, including a special investigation into Iran’s tentative economic and political rehabilitation in the eyes of international markets, Lebanon’s economy, UAE-India ties and Saudi Arabia’s equity-market revolution.

Iran's pivotal moment

The security crisis brought on by the rise of Islamic State could turn Iran from pariah to much-needed partner to the west. Financial sanctions have hit both Iran’s economy and its banks hard. Inflation is rampant, NPLs are soaring, while banks lack capital. Corporates can’t get the funding they need. Local bank chiefs are itching to open their doors once again to foreign counterparties. If sanctions are lifted, what will the world’s bankers find in Tehran and beyond?

The long business arm of the Iranian state

After the Iranian Revolution overthrew the Shah in 1979 and the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini launched the Islamic Republic that exists today, there were a lot of assets the Shah and his followers had left behind as they fled Iran.

Regional banking strategy

Two ways to win the Middle East

Some banks are national powerhouses, building out across the region; others are already regional players, with individual markets creating something greater than the sum of their parts

Lebanon Central Bank Governor interview

Salamé keeps Lebanon going

The longest-serving central bank governor in the world has seen it all, and even now is keeping the economy growing despite domestic political paralysis and the spillover from Syria