September 2006
MENA’s financial sector landscape: The shape of things to come
Despite Gulf coffers brimming with oil cash and aggressive expansion by some of the region’s banks, inherent barriers to regional consolidation are set to limit fundamental change in the Middle East and North Africa’s financial sector landscape over the next five years. Alex Warren reports.
By Alex Warren
THE PAST FEW YEARS have been a fine time to be a banker in the Arab world. Across the region, banks have benefited from the liquidity springing from white-hot oil prices in the Gulf, as well as a thriving retail market and enticing project finance opportunities.
The pace of growth is astounding – “frightening” in the words of one Emirates analyst. According to the latest World Bank report on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, bank deposits rose at an average annual rate of 15% between 2002 and 2005, with resource-rich, labour-importing countries benefiting from more than $30 billion in new deposits every year.
Banks in Gulf Cooperation Council countries in particular have boomed. Almost all notched up record results in 2005; some doubled their profits, all enjoyed a return on equity well above 20% and in some cases in excess of 30%. A return on assets...
You must be a subscriber to access this archived content.
If your subscription includes access to the archive, please log in now to view.
To gain access to this content visit the subscription page or call our hotline on +44 (0)207 779 8999.
Subscribe online now and save up to 30% on your subscription.
If you are a trialist or subscriber, please enter your username and password at the top right-hand side of euromoney.com
Subscribers to Euromoney benefit from:
- 12 months access in print and online - on euromoney.com, read the latest issue early online, search for specific developments by region or sector, interrogate the results of Euromoney's benchmark polls, and view the archive dating back to 1996
- More than 30 specialist research guides free
- The results of Euromoney’s polls and surveys
- Tailored RSS news feeds direct to your desktop
- News delivered directly to your mobile device or PC
- Personalised email newsfeed of 'Top stories' and 'Breaking news'
Click here to subscribe