Middle East

Delusional clients are complicating the business of collecting fees for advising on mega trades for customers such as Saudi Aramco and Tesla.

Saad Azhari has quietly ushered in a new era at Blom Bank. The outwardly conservative firm has embraced technology and pulled off a transformative acquisition for its wholesale business. But prudence remains the watchword in such a tempestuous market.

Inclusion in the emerging market index is recognition of the country’s reforms and could bring $50 billion of foreign investment.

Less onerous regulatory requirements and the proximity to markets where retail FX is prohibited continue to encourage brokers to set up shop in the Middle East, despite ongoing state protection for the Saudi Arabian currency.

Europe may not be enough after Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran deal.

As international financiers rush into Saudi Arabia, they are asking if the Kingdom can deliver on its grand promises.

The Middle East’s financial centres are keen to collaborate on fintech, in an effort to catch up with US, UK and Asian markets. But with rich pickings on offer, there is also stiff competition to establish fintech dominance.

In the most difficult circumstances, QNB's international strategy has paid dividends

FAB can become more than the sum of its parts, but there's a lot of work to do

Financial providers are pushing to identify new higher-margin services, while remaining relevant to corporate partners and boosting profitability in a disruptive digital age. Meanwhile, across the Middle East economies, governments want to diversify away from oil and gas, creating opportunities for multinationals, regional banks and export credit agencies.

The former head of Saudi Arabia’s CMA was a far-sighted internationalist whose commitment to transparency, technocratic leadership, governance, empowerment of women and young people foreshadowed the far-reaching reforms now energising the country.

An investment company linked to one of Iran’s largest investment banks failed to publicly disclose its focus on Iran when it listed on NEX Exchange, though it always intended to invest primarily in that country.

Qatar’s financial sector might not be the only one to struggle under a blockade imposed on the country since June by a coalition of Middle Eastern states.

Air Berlin and Alitalia bankrupt after CEO change at Etihad; Abu Dhabi backs partner bonds.

Iraq’s former industry minister, Mohammed Alderajy, is brutally honest about the country’s culture of corruption and resistance to reform. The banking sector is far from immune. He says a new attitude is needed if Iraq is to improve its prospects for reconstruction.

Banks in Qatar have been hit hard by its powerful neighbours’ unexpected blockade, but finance, just like other sectors of the Qatari economy, is finding ways to cope with this sudden realignment of regional alliances.

Low oil prices have put Oman’s government under pressure, while regional political turmoil could make life even more uncomfortable. A new economic model is called for, but can the leaders in Muscat find one quickly enough?

The Belt and Road Initiative offers much to the disparate markets of the Middle East and Africa, but not all those countries seem so enthusiastic in return.

Fintech and digital financial services are rushing in to help refugees and migrants access and transfer money, but their innovation isn’t just changing how humanitarian aid agencies operate – it’s also offering solutions for broader financial inclusion challenges.

In the refugee camps of Jordan and Lebanon, life for the many of the 5 million Syrians displaced by civil war somehow goes on. A whole new financial ecosystem is needed to support the amazing resilience and initiative of many of these refugees, who have little prospect of going home. It presents a new challenge for NGOs and they need the help of investors, financial institutions and the private sector. Euromoney visited camps in Jordan and urban areas in Lebanon to talk to aid workers, government and non-government officials and the refugees themselves to find out what role the banking system can play in alleviating the greatest humanitarian challenge of this century.

Spreads at multi-year lows as demand remains buoyant; Investors reverse underweight positions.

Dana Gas, an Emirati gas company, is using Shariah non-compliance as an argument in its sukuk restructuring talks. That remarkable move, if successful, could undermine the whole system of trust built around Islamic finance in the Middle East.

Several banks write off Syrian operations; they continue to be big shareholders.

After another tumultuous year for banking in Lebanon, the central bank governor discusses the political pushback against his actions, the potential impact of a new US law targeting Hezbollah and the prospects for his reappointment.

Later this year 50 people will go on trial in Venice charged with complicity in illegal arms trafficking to Iran. Among the defendants will be leading figures, past and present, from the world of Italian finance as well as senior government officials. Evidence amassed over several years strongly suggests that banks in a number of European countries have been involved.

Gulf bankers have been through a trauma — and there is more pain to come. News of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait brought instant demand for cash, a rapid fall in local currencies and a haemorrhage of funds from the region. Some institutions will not survive; others must undergo rapid change. And as bankers set about repairing the damage there are warnings of further shocks to come.

Secretive, aggressive, unpredictable and highly successful, the state fund managers of the Kuwait Investment Office (KIO) are among the world's most important investors. Only the Swiss Big Three banks have more funds invested internationally than the $60 billion or more of the tiny emirate's oil wealth now in play around the globe. Who makes the decisions? What's the strategy? And what are the internal politics? By Martin French

"I see that the kingdom's financial position is as solid and as promising as ever. It gives no grounds for any concern," proclaimed Mohammed Abalkhail, the Minister of Finance and National Economy of Saudi Arabia.

Persuading all the leading merchant families of six different Arabian and Gulf states to back the first serious investment bank in the region was some feat on the part of Nemir Kirdar. Now the president of Arabian Investment Banking Corporation – Investcorp – has to start delivering first class deals. By Peter Field

Sulaiman Abdel-Aziz al-Rajhi, the Saudi money changer, is conservative, pious and modest. The firm he founded is worth a far-from-modest $7 billion. How he prospered. By Michael Field