Banking

RIGA/WAM The European Central Bank (ECB) can lower borrowing costs at this month’s meeting, Bloomberg quoted ECB Governing Council member Martins Kazaks as saying on Wednesday. “Next week we have the ECB’s council meeting, and to my mind — looking at the data that we have at available at the moment — we can take the next step in the ...

ABU DHABI/WAM The National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) today announced the launch of the “NBF Emerging Business Unit” to provide personalised service and the support needed for businesses to achieve their aspirations. Customers of the new unit will have a dedicated relationship manager who will build a deep understanding of their business needs, and from that craft the optimal banking ...

ABU DHABI/WAM Al Maryah Community Bank (Mbank), the leading digital bank in the UAE, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ). This collaboration aims to streamline and facilitate the account opening process for businesses establishing themselves in RAKEZ via Mbank’s fully integrated digital platform. All types of companies operating within the RAKEZ ...

ABU DHABI/WAM UAE-based Banks attracted new “3-month” deposits worth more than AED54 billion during the first five months of this year, according to the latest statistics from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). The statistics showed that deposits in banks for three months recorded about AED659.01 billion at the end of May 2024 compared to AED604.99 billion in December ...

NEW DELHI/WAM India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $4.546 billion, reaching $674.664 billion, just below their all-time high, during the week ending August 16, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday. Asian News International (ANI) reported that the previous record high was US$674.919 billion. The reserves have been fluctuating for some time. In 2024 ...

ABU DHABI/WAM The UAE’s top banks’ capital position remains robust, supported by high profits, and their asset quality further improved in the quarter ending June 2024. Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), a leading global professional services firm, in its latest report on UAE Banking Pulse for the second quarter of 2024, stated that profitability increased to AED 21.5 billion for Q2 2024 on ...

GULF TIME Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the UAE Federal export credit company, signed a cooperation agreement with the International Development Bank (IDB), the largest banking network in Iraq, to support the ‘Xport Xponential’ initiative. By signing the agreement, the bank will join the list of partners of the ‘Xport Xponential’ initiative, launched by ECI in May with the goal of ...

LONDON/WAM The Bank of England has cut interest rates for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 as inflationary pressures in the economy have eased, Associated Press (AP) reported. In a statement Thursday, the bank said that by a 5-4 margin, its policymaking panel backed a quarter-point reduction in its main interest rate to ...

ABU DHABI/WAM The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) imposed a financial sanction on a bank operating in the UAE, pursuant to Article 14 of the Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organisations. The financial sanction is the result of the findings of an examination conducted ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Astra Tech, the leading consumer technology holding group in the Mena region, announces its partnership with Al Etihad Payments (AEP), a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), for the launch of Aani — an advanced instant payment platform. Operated by Al Etihad Payments, Aani will allow digital payments to be processed instantly, on ...