Al Rajhi Bank has come through a difficult year for financial markets with an increase in profits, revenues, deposits and assets.

HSBC Amanah enjoyed strong financial performance, an impressive portfolio of transactions and continued development of its retail business in 2009. The bank’s bald statistics provide a glimpse of its achievements over the past year. Operating income in the year to October was up 20% on 2008. Customer numbers increased 25% in the first half of the year. On the insurance side, SABB Takaful’s total premiums rose 52% for the first three quarters.

Even while it began to grow in developed markets, Islamic finance faced key tests. Fears about the enforceability of sukuk contracts in the Middle East might have proved exaggerated, but critics of the industry’s mimicking of conventional finance remain.

Although SAAB Takaful had another good year in Saudi Arabia, with total premiums up 52% for the first three quarters of 2009, the award goes to a provider in Malaysia: Takaful Ikhlas.

There is a natural controversy in Islamic finance about how strictly banks should adhere to Shariah rules. Some think certain structures that have proliferated and helped grow the industry should be banned – others say these are fine.

Saudi banks often set aside most of their provisions for bad debt in the fourth quarter. Last year, there was more reason to do so, as debt problems at the local Saad and Al Gosaibi groups emerged in May and information only came out gradually.

If Islamic finance is to be more than just a marketing fad, radically new products must be developed.

Private Banking and Wealth Management Survey 2010 results revealed February 8.

The annual Private Banking and Wealth Management Survey provides a qualitative and quantitative review of the best services in private banking, by region and by areas of service. It is an informative guide for high net-worth individuals on the range of service providers that are available.

Two-thirds of banks and investors with an interest in Kuwait’s The Investment Dar (TID) approved a restructuring programme on December 24, allowing a deal to proceed.

Bond investors thought Dubai World was government risk. Dubai doesn’t see it that way. Sudip Roy reports.

The emirate is beginning to recover from the financial shocks of the past year. But several challenges remain, not least servicing its large debt pile. Sudip Roy reports.

Treacherous conditions persist in the Middle East when it comes to closing private equity deals. But firms investing together and using equity rather than debt still have a chance.

Big jump in issuance from Abu Dhabi, Qatar; More Islamic and higher-yield issuance to come

Standard Chartered Bank has concluded its first-ever structured Islamic FX hedging transaction in Europe. The deal was concluded with the European Islamic Investment Bank. The bank says it is part of an ongoing process to develop products that both follow Shariah principles and fulfil its customers’ specific requirements. StanChart adds the deal is the first of its kind under its new Musawamah documentation and involves an exchange of commodities for each FX leg.

Hopes to raise equity up to $500 million; Turns away from real estate development

Credit-quality and profit-growth troubles; Subsidiary in Syria to undertake IPO

France’s parliament amended article 2011 of the civil code on September 17 to help the structuring of Islamic financial products in the country using the French equivalent of trusts.

Gulf project finance has become a tougher market since the credit crunch. But local banks are plugging some of the funding gaps and international banks will still take on sound projects if the terms are right. Nick Kochan reports.

Iran’s privatization programme is putting shares in the hands of quasi-state organizations. That’s partly because the domestic private sector is starved of funds and foreign investment is hampered by US sanctions and local restrictions. Mainly, though, it’s because the ruling elite wants to retain control. Angus McDowall reports.

Afghanistan has a fast, efficient, customer-friendly banking system in its network of money traders. They operate where western-style bankers fear to tread – indeed those bankers rely in part on the traders to complete transactions. But the government would like the banks to supersede this old, established system.

For most of 2009, Malaysian dealmakers had little to talk about. But when a landmark bond issue for Petronas, the country’s biggest corporate name, came to market in August, it more than made up for lost time. Lawrence White reports from Kuala Lumpur.

Saudi Arabia is home to Al Rajhi, the Middle East’s biggest bank by market value.

Qatar’s leaders are taking pre-emptive action to ensure that none of its banks gets into difficulty. Last year the Qatar Investment Authority bought 5% stakes in all local banks and is expected to take another 5% later this year, except in Qatar National Bank, which is already 50% state owned.

Public Bank no longer has this award so easily to itself as the CIMB Group continues to develop and grow, but for now it is still Malaysia’s clear leader pretty much any way you look at it.

Banks in the Middle East know how to cope with a crisis: Lebanese banks’ profit as the country teeters on civil war; Iranian institutions deftly avoid US financial sanctions.

Amid the almost terminal instability threatening the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a few pillars of the business community have remained solid. One of these is certainly MCB, the banking group privatized in 1991 and controlled by the country’s richest man, Mian Mohammad Mansha. Voted best bank in Asia in 2008 by Euromoney, Pakistan’s largest private sector bank has experienced both change and consolidation in the past year. MCB sold a minority 20% stake to Maybank of Malaysia in summer 2008; since then, the two have been working together to expand into new markets, notably in the Middle East and North Africa, while boosting their united presence in the Islamic banking sector. Total assets continue to rise at MCB, up 3% in the first quarter of 2009 to Rs456 billion ($5.7 billion). First-quarter 2009 results were also strong, with earnings up 8% year on year in the first three months, to Rs6.24 billion. While other Pakistan lenders, such as Allied Bank and UBL, continue to make gains, eating into MCB’s lead, the process is slow. Even the bank’s direct peers grudgingly accept MCB’s pre-eminence. "They’re still ahead of the rest," says a rival banker. "Better managed, better systems, better IT, better on-the-ground presence, better retail banking." Another notes that the bank’s 1,000-strong branch network allied to its technologically pioneering nature and strength in the SME sector makes it "hard to touch" for probably the next "two or three years at least".

BNP Paribas: The French bank has been adept at finding new sources of finance in a tight market and succeeding with difficult deals

Running a bank in Qatar appears to be getting easier all the time. The local government’s latest bailout plan for its financial sector will involve the state clearing up to $4.1 billion of troubled real estate loans and investment from lenders’ balance sheets.

Debt restructurings are untested process; Demand for new sovereign sukuk still strong