GCC Banking

Banking stocks propel the GCC markets

According to our recently released Monthly Market Review for the month of July, the second half of the year started on a good note for the stock markets of Kuwait and its regional peers, as they continue to yield positive results. Kuwait markets registered a positive performance for the month of July, as its All Share index gained 5.7%, propelling its YTD gains to 9.6%. Among Kuwait’s blue chip companies, Zain, Kuwait Financial House (KFH) and National Bank of Kuwait...

Mobile payments are a great business opportunity for GCC banks

The article originally appeared in The National | Business Cash is still king in the GCC. But that is soon to change. The beauty of disruptive technology is it disrupts, no matter what. Either companies adapt quickly, or get swamped under. Consider the case of mobile payments. Sweden opened its first unmanned convenience store in March last year. Amazon is testing a grocery store in Seattle with no checkout lines. Customers check-in at the entrance of the store with a...

Should GCC banks be wary of Fintech entry?

The western countries, especially the US, have adopted technology at a much faster pace than the rest of the world. At present, almost 80% of Fintech investment happens in the US, followed by the UK. Developed markets in the Asia Pacific have also been investing and implementing Fintech solutions in recent times. However, adoption in the GCC is still in its infancy. But with growing awareness, Fintech is slowly breaking ground in the region.   Digital-only banking Digital-only banking is...

Revealed: The 30 most valuable non-banking companies in GCC

ROE is one of the important parameters that is used to evaluate the strength of the company as well as the return the company generates for the equity holders. ROE is also a measure of efficiency of functioning of the company. Debt to equity (D/E) indicates the leverage and thereby the risk the company faces due to its capital structure. As D/E ratio is a comparative measure, we have ranked the companies based on the measure to indicate companies that...

Private equity can fill the funding gaps left by banks

The article originally appeared in The National | Business. Is this the perfect time for GCC private equity and venture capital to scale up? After the global financial crisis, private equity activity in the GCC declined tremendously. Fundraising became anaemic, despite the sizeable amount of dry powder accumulated over the boom years, and deals had stalled as acquisition finance became expensive and difficult to obtain. After a long hibernation, value raised under private equity experienced a quantum leap from US$900 million...

Qatar Banking – Advantage larger banks

Qatar banking sector overall accounts for 126% of the country’s nominal GDP in 2014 and banks’ credit to GDP stood at 87%. According to Marmore’s report on Qatar banking, the post-crisis growth in loans, deposits, assets and revenues (2009-2014) has been significantly lower than pre-crisis growth (2003-2008), but the overall size of the sector has increased. Qatar banks witnessed a credit growth of 15.5% in 2014, Loan Loss Provisions (LLPs) decreased by 7% with total provisions amounting to USD 0.65bn...

Japanese Interest in Islamic Banking: Key Questions

Islamic banking derives its basis from the principles laid down in Sharia and unlike conventional finance prohibits payment of and charging of interest. It has caught the attention of the global financial services and banking industry. The growth in Sharia-compliant products and services has happened over the years as financial institutions took their time to understand the principles, and design products and services that comply with those principles. Modern banks started offering sharia-compliant products around mid-1970s. Japan, once an economic...