Having established a Dublin headquarters, Citi's Europe, Middle East and Africa operations are well prepared for Brexit. And a strategic overhaul four years ago tightened up its risk management, leaving it leaner and safer, as the US bank's EMEA head, Jim Cowles, tells Stefanie Linhardt.
Low oil prices have dented Qatar's economic success story of late but its banks are thriving. Some are looking to domestic consolidation for the next phase of growth, others to foreign acquisitions, while a deal that will create the region’s biggest Islamic bank is in the pipeline. Kit Gillet reports.
The environment in which Lebanon's banks have been operating has been challenging, meaning that despite their steady growth a backdrop of uncertainty is influencing policy. And they are also having to contend with a public backlash regarding profits from a central bank swap offer, writes Edward Russell-Walling.
The long-awaited election of a new president in Lebanon has been welcomed both at home and abroad. However, the political process in the country is still moving at a snail's pace, and issues such as the influx of Syrian refugees and an eye-watering debt-to-GDP ratio continue to loom large, as Edward Russell-Walling reports.
Long-serving governor Riad Salamé is coming to the end of his fourth term at the helm of the Banque du Liban, Lebanon's central bank. Speculation is rife about whether he will be replaced but, as he tells Edward Russell-Walling, the decision is out of his hands.
Mohammad Al-Hashel, the governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, talks to James King about his efforts to strengthen the bank's supervisory capacity, meet the challenges of adopting IFRS9 and ensure the continued stability of the banking system.
Dr Hamad Al-Hasawi, secretary general of the Kuwait Banking Association, talks to James King about the country’s drive to become an Islamic finance hub, and how PPP project financing will bring further opportunities.
Saudi Arabia's blueprint for the future, Vision 2030, aims to diversify the economy and cement the country's status as a Middle Eastern powerhouse. But the reforms necessary to modernise the country and attract investment will bring challenges as well as opportunities, as James King reports.