Ahead of the 2016 Asian Development Bank annual meeting in Frankfurt, the president of the ADB discusses China’s slowdown and reform agenda while underscoring that other parts of Asia – such as India – are still growing strongly. Interview by Stefania Palma.
Kuwait's economy has come under pressure in the past year, mainly due to falling oil prices. But, with the help of healthy sovereign reserves, the country has weathered the difficulties well, and the government remains committed to its long-term development plan.
There is a positive mood in Kuwait's banking sector, thanks in no small part to the government's healthy balance sheet and its commitment to project spending. However, the low oil price environment and cooling real estate market loom large on the horizon.
The Banker and the Nikkei Asian Review are now sister publications following the Nikkei’s acquisition of the Financial Times in December. We are delighted to present this joint report to coincide with the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in Frankfurt in early May.
Kuwait boasts one of the most respected Islamic finance markets in the world. But ever keen to move with the times, the country is establishing a capital markets authority law designed to develop the domestic sukuk market, one of many recent boosts the industry has received.
The UK's Senior Managers Regime seeks to formalise responsibility for risk, yet the threat of cyber attack sits outside of traditional risk governance standards, and means that protecting against such attacks will require a rethink of the traditional 'three lines of defence' model.
As 2015 comes to an end, The Banker has brought together a group of high-profile experts in the world of finance and economic research to predict what will happen in the next 12 months. Silvia Pavoni asks them to share their views on the global economy and on what factors will shape banking in the future.
Despite a fall in total assets, The Banker's 2015 survey of the Top Islamic Financial Institutions indicates that the market is continuing to move in the right direction, with sharia-compliant institutions improving access to and delivery of services, developing microfinance services, and forming stronger strategic partnerships across Asia.
The negative growth recorded in the aggregate assets of Islamic financial institutions in this year's survey can almost entirely be attributed to a collapse in the value of the Iranian rial. When delving further into the data, a much more healthy picture emerges.