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Banking

Middle East 2013: Ethical Banking

THE ALLURE OF ETHICAL BANKING By Gordon Platt Islamic banks in the Gulf region are tapping into growing demand for ethical banking and are upping their game in structuring sukuk and wholesale banking services. Ethical banking services ...

Banking

Middle East 2013: Jordans Uphill Battle

BRIDGING THE GAPS By Gordon Platt Jordan has a difficult road ahead as it implements economic and political reforms as part of an IMF loan package and deals with the spillover from unrest in neighboring countries. Jordan’s ...

Banking

Middle East 2013: Seeking Unity On GCC

SEEKING UNITY By Gordon Platt GCC members continue to pay lip service to economic and political union, but experts say much more needs to be done on the military, security and development fronts before that can happen. ...

Banking

Middle East 2013: Takaful Insurance

SHARING RISK By Anita Hawser Takaful insurance markets are growing steadily in the Gulf, but the regulatory framework is still developing in some countries. Taking out car, property or life insurance is second nature in the West, ...

Banking

Middle East 2013: Transition Economies

DEFYING EXPECTATIONS By Gordon Platt For many, the Arab Spring symbolizes years of painful economic and political reforms ahead. But financial institutions are upbeat about the region’s prospects, noting that markets such as Iraq and Libya continue to ...

Banking

Middle East 2013: UAE: Visions Of Splendor

VISIONS OF SPLENDOR By Gordon Platt Investor confidence has returned to the UAE, with the former debt-laden emirate of Dubai once again planning major infrastructure projects. Even a new financial center is planned for construction. Dubai continues ...

Banking

Milestones: Italy Coughs And The Rest Of Europe Sneezes

MILESTONES: ITALY By Valentina Pasquali The general elections held in Italy in February yielded a hung parliament, marked the phenomenal rise of the little-understood protest movement of former comedian Beppe Grillo, and unexpectedly revived the flagging political career of former ...

Banking

Milestones: Shareholder Say On Pay Takes Form

MILESTONES: EUROPE By Anita Hawser Billed as a major blow to the UK’s status as a global financial services hub, the European Parliament and council sent a clear message in February about bank bonuses, reaching an agreement that bankers’ bonuses ...

Banking

Milestones: Supreme Court Caps Time For SEC To Pursue Civil Penalties

MILESTONES: US By Forrest Jones Should the US Securities and Exchange Commission want to slap civil penalties on anyone involved in any improprieties, it had better get cracking sooner rather than later. SEC told to speed up claims against ...

Banking

Newsmakers: Kuroda Aims To Rewrite BoJ History

NEWSMAKERS: JAPAN By Valentina Pasquali Prime minister Shinz Abe's election victory at the end of 2012 promised to bring sweeping changes to Japan's handling of its lethargic economy, with renewed efforts to spur growth and combat deflation. Kuroda ...

Banking

Newsmakers: Matolcsy Creates Anxiety For Hungarys Central

NEWSMAKERS: HUNGARY By Paul Mackintosh Widespread concerns in Europe over the independence and integrity of Hungary's institutions were rekindled recently by the news that prime minister Viktor Orbán had appointed his right-hand man, György Matolcsy, as the new governor of ...

Awards

Ranking: Safest Banks Midyear Update

SEARCHING FOR SECURITY By Andrew Cunningham Global Finance presents its half-year update to the World’s Safest Banks Ranking. Canadian banks suffer downgrades but remain well represented in global safest rankings. Downgrades by both S&P and Moody’s have ...