Company Insights Emirates NBD Banking & Finance Emirates NBD Overview Emirates NBD is Dubai’s largest lender and largest bank in terms of assets. It was initially formed as the National Bank of Dubai (NBD) in 1963 by Dubai’s then ruler Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Then in 2007 NBD merged with Emirates Bank International to form Emirates NBD, and its shares were officially listed on the Dubai Financial Market. Emirates NBD then bought the Shari’a-compliant Dubai Bank in 2012. Units within the Emirates NBD Group include Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic, Emirates NBD Asset Management and DenizBank in Turkey. Products and services include personal, private, corporate and Islamic banking. Based in Dubai, the Emirates NBD Group has more than 850 branches in the UAE and overseas, including in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, India, Singapore, the UK and representative offices in China and Indonesia. It is increasing its branch network in Saudi Arabia and also plans further expansion in India. In September 2023 Emirates NBD announced it was launching a sustainable finance framework, including directly issuing green debt and other instruments to support social and environmental aims. Emirates NBD News Banking & Finance Emirates NBD profit slips despite strong loan growth Net profit at Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank by assets, fell in the first quarter of 2025 compared to a year ago despite growth in loans and interest income. Tax paid caused the bottom line to decline more than 7 percent to AED6.2 billion ($1.7 billion) for the first three months, from AED6.7 billion a […] April 22, 2025 Banking & Finance HSBC dominates as Mena investment banking fees soar Investment banking fee revenue in the Middle East and North Africa soared during the first quarter thanks to record debt arrangements, increased mergers and acquisitions and more initial public offerings. The industry’s regional earnings underline the growing importance of the Mena region to international banks, although the revenue from fees remains a fraction of those […] April 9, 2025 Analysis Real Estate Shortage of Dubai homes forces buyers to go off-plan A shortage of completed homes for sale in Dubai is pushing people to buy off-plan properties, which have hit record highs in terms of units bought and as a proportion of purchases. Off-plan investors in the emirate have long had to fund their own purchases, but the growing importance of yet-to-be-completed properties may spur more […] April 9, 2025 Finance Dubai’s ICD could tap IPO market to fund expansion The Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the principal investment arm of the emirate’s government, could potentially turn to the capital markets with a raft of listings over the next year or so, according to analysts. Established in 2006, ICD is worth about $340 billion and already has one of its crown jewels – Emirates NBD, […] April 7, 2025 Finance UAE banks back Turkey Wealth Fund’s $1.2bn loan State-backed Turkey Wealth Fund has secured its first loan without a treasury guarantee, backed by UAE-listed banks, a local newspaper reported. The sovereign fund raised €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) two-year syndicated loan from 20 banks from 12 countries, Daily Sabah reported. The interest rate was set at Euro interbank offered rate, plus 2 percent annually for […] March 26, 2025 Analysis Renewable Energy Shortage of ‘bankable’ green energy projects stymies investment While the Middle East has seen a surge in sustainable finance initiatives, investors are struggling to find commercially viable energy projects to invest in. This is particularly the case in developing nations, according to industry experts. The financial sector in the UAE has pledged to “mobilise” AED1 trillion ($272 billion) in sustainable finance by 2030. […] March 21, 2025 Banking & Finance Emirates NBD downplays reports of Egyptian acquisition Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank by assets, has refuted media reports that it is undertaking due diligence on a state-owned Egyptian bank ahead of potentially buying a stake in the lender. Last week, Kuwaiti and Egyptian media published articles detailing how Emirates NBD – which has an Egyptian subsidiary – had begun examining the books […] March 18, 2025 Banking & Finance Emirates NBD to buy stake in Egypt’s Banque du Caire Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank by assets, has begun due diligence ahead of buying a stake in Egypt’s sixth-largest commercial bank, Banque du Caire. The purchase would be the latest sale of a government-owned asset in a stalled privatisation programme, according to regional media. Egypt agreed an expanded $8 billion loan from the International Monetary […] March 13, 2025 Finance Asset securitisation in the Gulf takes its first baby steps Asset securitisation, a $14 trillion business in the United States, seems to be finally gaining ground in the Gulf. Last week the UAE lender Deem Finance sealed a $400 million asset securitisation deal with JP Morgan. Emirates NBD of Dubai and Rasmal Ventures in Qatar have also co-invested $7.6 million in the Turkish startup TeamSec, […] March 11, 2025 Analysis Banking & Finance Mashreq and First Abu Dhabi winning bank efficiency race Dubai’s Mashreq bank, the UAE’s fifth-largest by assets, slashed its cost-to-income ratio, an important banking metric, last year thanks to the partial sale of a subsidiary and more customers switching to non-interest-bearing accounts. The cost-to-income ratio shows the relation between income and the cost of acquiring that income. A declining ratio suggests that a bank […] March 5, 2025 Posts navigation 1 2 … 19 Next
Banking & Finance Emirates NBD profit slips despite strong loan growth Net profit at Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank by assets, fell in the first quarter of 2025 compared to a year ago despite growth in loans and interest income. Tax paid caused the bottom line to decline more than 7 percent to AED6.2 billion ($1.7 billion) for the first three months, from AED6.7 billion a […] April 22, 2025
Banking & Finance HSBC dominates as Mena investment banking fees soar Investment banking fee revenue in the Middle East and North Africa soared during the first quarter thanks to record debt arrangements, increased mergers and acquisitions and more initial public offerings. The industry’s regional earnings underline the growing importance of the Mena region to international banks, although the revenue from fees remains a fraction of those […] April 9, 2025
Analysis Real Estate Shortage of Dubai homes forces buyers to go off-plan A shortage of completed homes for sale in Dubai is pushing people to buy off-plan properties, which have hit record highs in terms of units bought and as a proportion of purchases. Off-plan investors in the emirate have long had to fund their own purchases, but the growing importance of yet-to-be-completed properties may spur more […] April 9, 2025
Finance Dubai’s ICD could tap IPO market to fund expansion The Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the principal investment arm of the emirate’s government, could potentially turn to the capital markets with a raft of listings over the next year or so, according to analysts. Established in 2006, ICD is worth about $340 billion and already has one of its crown jewels – Emirates NBD, […] April 7, 2025
Finance UAE banks back Turkey Wealth Fund’s $1.2bn loan State-backed Turkey Wealth Fund has secured its first loan without a treasury guarantee, backed by UAE-listed banks, a local newspaper reported. The sovereign fund raised €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) two-year syndicated loan from 20 banks from 12 countries, Daily Sabah reported. The interest rate was set at Euro interbank offered rate, plus 2 percent annually for […] March 26, 2025
Analysis Renewable Energy Shortage of ‘bankable’ green energy projects stymies investment While the Middle East has seen a surge in sustainable finance initiatives, investors are struggling to find commercially viable energy projects to invest in. This is particularly the case in developing nations, according to industry experts. The financial sector in the UAE has pledged to “mobilise” AED1 trillion ($272 billion) in sustainable finance by 2030. […] March 21, 2025
Banking & Finance Emirates NBD downplays reports of Egyptian acquisition Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank by assets, has refuted media reports that it is undertaking due diligence on a state-owned Egyptian bank ahead of potentially buying a stake in the lender. Last week, Kuwaiti and Egyptian media published articles detailing how Emirates NBD – which has an Egyptian subsidiary – had begun examining the books […] March 18, 2025
Banking & Finance Emirates NBD to buy stake in Egypt’s Banque du Caire Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank by assets, has begun due diligence ahead of buying a stake in Egypt’s sixth-largest commercial bank, Banque du Caire. The purchase would be the latest sale of a government-owned asset in a stalled privatisation programme, according to regional media. Egypt agreed an expanded $8 billion loan from the International Monetary […] March 13, 2025
Finance Asset securitisation in the Gulf takes its first baby steps Asset securitisation, a $14 trillion business in the United States, seems to be finally gaining ground in the Gulf. Last week the UAE lender Deem Finance sealed a $400 million asset securitisation deal with JP Morgan. Emirates NBD of Dubai and Rasmal Ventures in Qatar have also co-invested $7.6 million in the Turkish startup TeamSec, […] March 11, 2025
Analysis Banking & Finance Mashreq and First Abu Dhabi winning bank efficiency race Dubai’s Mashreq bank, the UAE’s fifth-largest by assets, slashed its cost-to-income ratio, an important banking metric, last year thanks to the partial sale of a subsidiary and more customers switching to non-interest-bearing accounts. The cost-to-income ratio shows the relation between income and the cost of acquiring that income. A declining ratio suggests that a bank […] March 5, 2025
