Emirates NBD is the first MENA bank to deploy OpenAI inside the UAE
Here is your banking that already runs on AI, and you may not notice when that changes. Emirates NBD has become the first MENA bank to deploy OpenAI, running the company’s GPT models on computing infrastructure based inside the UAE. The bank and OpenAI announced the enterprise collaboration on Monday. It makes Emirates NBD the […]
Arqaam Capital launches Arqaam Academy as first cohort of its Analyst Programme begins in Dubai
The launch of Arqaam Academy started not with a ceremony but with a test. Every one of the 25 people who began the programme on 12 October had already built a valuation, argued a recommendation, and sat through two rounds of panel interviews to win the seat. That detail sets the tone for what the […]
Wio Bank introduces the UAE’s first auto-enabled Click to Pay solution
Wio Bank has switched on a Click to Pay solution across its cards, becoming the first issuer in the UAE to auto-enable Mastercard’s online checkout solution for eligible cardholders. The change means a customer paying on a participating website no longer fills in a long card number, an expiry date, and a security code. One […]
Sharjah Islamic Bank’s $500 million Sukuk clears at 5.85 percent final yield
The Sharjah Islamic Bank’s $500 million Sukuk drew an order book of US$1.3 billion, giving the lender demand equal to 2.6 times the amount on offer. Investors placed those orders across a five-year deal that priced at a final yield of 5.85 percent. That yield sat 105 basis points above five-year US Treasury securities, the […]
How the CBUAE base rate increase affects UAE mortgages, loans and savings
The CBUAE base rate increase takes the UAE base rate to 3.9%, a quarter-point step up from 3.65% that landed on Thursday, September 17. It applies to the Overnight Deposit Facility, the tool the Central Bank uses to set a floor for short-term money in the country. The Central Bank also kept the cost of […]
Ellington Properties and ADCB Roll Out Pre-Approved Home Financing in Dubai
Pre-approved home financing in Dubai picked up a new route this month for anyone eyeing an Ellington Properties home. The boutique developer has partnered with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to offer financing that follows a buyer from reservation through handover, whether the unit is still under construction or ready to move into today. Instead of […]
GCC banking sector Q2 2026 posts a record $2.59tn in gross bank lending
Inside the GCC banking sector, Q2 2026 figures show a shift in how the region’s banks earn. Lenders now lean on loan volume, not interest rates, to grow income. Kamco Invest reported GCC bank lending across 55 listed Gulf banks reached a record $2.59 trillion by the end of June. That total rose 2.6 percent […]
Revolut’s US banking license clears first OCC hurdle for 2027 bank launch
The Revolut US banking license took a real step forward this week. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted the British neobank conditional approval for a national bank charter. That approval lets the firm form Revolut Bank US, a federally regulated entity based in Stamford, Connecticut. Founder and CEO Nik Storonsky called it […]
UAE’s First Transition Finance Framework by Emirates NBD Opens New Funding Route for Carbon-Heavy Industries
UAE’s first transition finance framework has arrived, and it changes how carbon-heavy companies in the country can access funding for their shift away from fossil-heavy operations. Emirates NBD built the framework specifically for corporate and institutional clients whose businesses cannot yet meet the strict criteria of green finance, but who are taking real, measurable steps […]
CBUAE’s Financial Stability Report shows UAE bank assets up 17.1% in 2025
CBUAE’s Financial Stability Report puts numbers behind something many people in the UAE already sense: that banks are lending more freely than they did a few years ago. UAE banking sector assets grew 17.1 percent in 2025 to AED5.3 trillion, worth roughly $1.44 trillion. Loans rose faster still, up 17.8 percent. Most of that credit […]
UAE Islamic finance strategy targets Dh2.56 trillion in assets by 2031
The UAE Islamic finance strategy sets a target of Dh2.56 trillion in local Islamic bank assets by 2031, part of a wider effort to root Shari’ah-compliant finance deeper in the national economy. Islamic banking assets in the country stood at Dh1.4 trillion as of June 2026, and 43 Islamic financial institutions now hold licences. The […]
World Bank grants $100 million to Syria for financial sector reform push
The World Bank grants $100 million to Syria to rebuild the foundations of a financial system worn down by more than a decade of conflict. Delivered as a grant from the International Development Association, the Bank’s arm for its poorest borrowers, the money will fund the Syria Financial Sector Modernization Project. That program is built […]
