Banking Archives

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Banking

GCC: Banks Remain Reluctant To Lend

GCC REGIONAL REPORT: BACK FROM THE BRINK By Gordon Platt Upheaval in the region and beyond is encouraging banks to bolster their balance sheets before launching any aggressive lending programs. Banks in the GCC have recovered from the ...

Banking

GCC: Big Changes Loom

GCC REGIONAL REPORT: MARKING A MILESTONE By Gordon Platt The regional group faces new challenges as it celebrates its 30th anniversary. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) celebrated its 30th anniversary on May 25 with quiet flag-raising ceremonies ...

Banking

GCC: High Oil Prices Support Government Spending Rise

GCC REGIONAL REPORT: OIL MARKETS By Gordon Platt Global politics, supply dynamics and the fiscal needs of the GCC’s governments are combining to cloud the prospects for oil prices . Oil prices have been volatile in recent ...

Banking

Regional Report: GCC

GUNS AND BUTTER The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, led by Saudi Arabia, will spend $120 billion over the next few years to buy advanced fighter planes and anti-missile defense systems. They are spending even larger sums to placate ...

Banking

Regulators In The Driver’s Seat

SIBOS 2011— REGULATION By Denise Bedell Companies—and their banks—are increasingly mindful of how regulatory changes, such as the introduction of Basel III, will affect their corporate banking activities and the cost of banking services. Wholesale banking activities—in ...

Banking

Special Report: Sibos 2011

SIBOS 2011 Change is in the air at this year’s annual Sibos conference in Toronto. Hosted by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the conference provides a forum for the world’s biggest corporate and investment banks to ...

Banking

The Trade Revolution

SIBOS 2011— TRADE FINANCE By Denise Bedell Trade finance is in the midst of wrenching changes, and banks must keep pace with them or face loss of market share and a deterioration of their client base. The ...

Banking

Virtual Competition Presents A Real Challenge

TECHNOLOGY— SIBOS 2011 By Anita Hawser Banks are facing growing competition from technologically advanced nonbanks as customers seek more convenience and higher service levels. Imagine a world where money is no longer thought of as something physical ...

Banking

Asia’s Banks On The Fast Track

FOCUS: INVESTMENT BANKING IN ASIA By Michael Shari Asia’s big banks are elbowing out their Western rivals as demand for financial services skyrockets in the region—and beyond. One of the great ironies lost in the panic of ...

Award Winners

Islamic Bank Awards 2011

ANNUAL SURVEY: ISLAMIC FINANCE By Gordon Platt The Islamic finance industry is benefiting from a lack of confidence in the conventional banking sector and is expanding rapidly in emerging markets. The global financial crisis has forced bankers ...

Award Winners

Islamic Bank Awards 2011: By Country

Country Awards Algeria Al Salam Bank-Algeria Al Salam Bank-Algeria was established in October 2008 with capital of $100 million. New rules on Islamic banking in Algeria became effective in January 2011 and are expected to promote the growth of the ...

Award Winners

Islamic Bank Awards 2011: By Region

Regional Awards Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Kuwait Finance House Kuwait Finance House was the first Islamic bank established in Kuwait. It is now a market leader in the GCC and beyond, offering a wide range of shariah-compliant products. KFH has ...