UAE banks’ viability ratings could face risks from asset-quality deterioration, lower business volumes and higher impairments under the adverse scenario, where the impact of the Iran conflict is significantly more severe, with real estate lending seen as the most likely source of stress, according to Fitch Ratings.
The UAE is well equipped to withstand the current regional crisis and has overcome far more severe shocks in the past, prominent Emirati businessman Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor said on Thursday, reacting to warnings by American economist Jeffrey Sachs.
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a leading Islamic financial institution, has reaffirmed its role as a key enabler of large-scale real estate development through its strategic partnership with Jubail Investment Company (JIC).
The Heads of the International Energy Agency, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank Group have agreed to form a coordination group to maximise their institutions’ response to the energy and economic impacts of the war in the Middle East.
In a strategic move, Bahrain-based Islamic wholesale bank GFH Financial Group (GFH) said it has rebranded as GFH Bank, in a move that reflects a shift in its business model and aims to sharpen its identity as an integrated banking and investment institution.
Saudi Arabia's banking sector saw a slowing of credit growth in February to +0.5% month-on-month (+9.6% y-o-y), vs 0.7% m-o-m in January 2026 and average 0.9% m-o-m in 2025.
The proposed merger between Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) and the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) remains on track for potential completion this year, despite ongoing regional economic challenges, a Gulf Daily News report said.
Four urgent proposals aimed at easing economic pressure, protecting consumers and supporting food security due to the Iranian attacks were unanimously approved by Bahrain MPs yesterday and referred to the Cabinet for urgent review, a Gulf Daily News report said.
ADIB Capital Limited, located in the DIFC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, has launched the ADIB Global Healthcare Fund (OEIC), a Shari’a-compliant public fund incorporated in the DIFC that is designed to provide investors with access to high-conviction investments in the listed equities of companies in the healthcare sector, with a primary focus on developed markets.
Euro zone inflation soared past the European Central Bank's 2% target this month as surging oil and gas costs drove up headline prices, but the jump was smaller than expected and core inflation declined, muddying the picture for policymakers, said a report.
