Dubai / Emirates Business Emirates Islamic announced the launch of chat banking services for customers via WhatsApp, marking a global first in the Islamic banking sector. The bank’s customers will now able to conduct daily banking activities via WhatsApp in a seamless and hassle-free manner. The Chat Banking solution, supported by Infobip, further enhances Emirates Islamic’s suite of digital banking …

Bloomberg Etihad Airways PJSC is seeking a loan of about $600 million to help make initial payments for planes, according to people familiar with the matter. Abu Dhabi’s state-owned carrier is arranging the loan on its own and has reached out to banks that may be willing to provide the unsecured facility with maturity of one or two years, said …

Bloomberg Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, the United Arab Emirates’ biggest Islamic lender, is considering buying Noor Bank PJSC, people with knowledge of the talks said. The bank has held preliminary discussions with Dubai-based Noor Bank’s shareho- lders, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Discussions are at an early stage and may not lead …