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Saudi Arabia, Bahrain raise rates after Fed hike; Oberbank withdraws from Iran

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Saudi Arabia, Bahrain raise rates after Fed hike; Oberbank withdraws from Iran

* Saudi Arabia and Bahrain yesterday raised their key interest rates, following the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hike decision. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority raised its repo rate to 250 basis points from 225 basis points and its reverse repo rate to 200 basis points from 175 basis points, while the Central Bank of Bahrain raised its key policy interest rate by 25 basis points, with the one-week deposit facility rate increased to 2.25% from 2.0% and the overnight deposit rate to 2.0% from 1.75%, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Kuwait maintained its discount rate at 3%.

* Austria's Oberbank AG said it is pulling out of Iran, citing the threat of potential U.S. sanctions, Reuters wrote. In September 2017, Oberbank signed an agreement to finance new ventures in the Middle Eastern nation.

* Qatar pledged $500 million in support of Jordan, which has been hit by economic and political crisis, an insider told Reuters. The aid package includes investments, project finance and job opportunities for the latter's citizens. Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates pledged $2.5 billion in aid to Jordan.

* The International Energy Agency said the oil output of Iran and Venezuela, which are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, could drop by nearly 30% next year as a result of U.S. sanctions and economic turmoil, Bloomberg News reported.

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

* Obaid Saif al-Zaabi, CEO of the UAE's Securities and Commodities Authority, said the regulator has completed drafting all regulatory requirements required to upgrade local financial markets from emerging to advance as part of the MSCI indexes, WAM reported.

* Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Co. is teaming up with Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. to launch a $400 million investment fund targeting European technology enterprises. The fund will be managed by the company's venture capital arm, Mubadala Ventures.

* The Central Bank of Kuwait has decided to amend clauses that regulate local banks' ownership of shares of listed companies, Al-Qabas reported. Under new regulations, a local bank cannot own more than 10% of any listed company.

* Burgan Bank KPSC named Nasser Mohammed Yousuf al-Qaisi its chief retail banking officer.

* The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Ltd. has asked Israeli lenders to extend the deadline for them to sell their holdings in the exchange until the end of August, Reuters reported. The move comes after the Israel Securities Authority requested for more time to examine the sale of the exchange's stakes to U.S. investment firm Manikay Partners LLC and other international investors.

* Gabriela Heller has resigned as CFO and joint company secretary of Israeli firm The Trendlines Group Ltd., effective June 30. Haim Brosh, the company's financial controller, will serve as interim CFO until a permanent replacement is named.

* Nabil Ahabchane has been named deputy director general of Upline Corporate Finance, a unit of Moroccan investment bank Upline Group, Financial Afrik reported.

* Groupe Crédit Agricole du Maroc launched mobile payment solution Beztam-E, which will cater to small traders in remote areas of Morocco, Agence Ecofin wrote.

EAST AND WEST AFRICA

* Direct Pay Online has consolidated its system across Africa under a new brand name, DPO Group, according to Business Daily Africa. The Kenya-based online payment service provider has also renamed its operations in southern Africa from PayGate to DPO PayGate.

* Commercial Bank of Africa Ltd. CEO Jeremy Ngunze said the Kenyan lender has partnered with local financial technology firm Ennovative Capital to expedite payments for goods or services delivered by suppliers through the bank's online platform, according to Reuters.

* Equity Bank (Kenya) Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding with Singapore-based online payment firm Red Dot Payment Pte. Ltd. to roll out Alipay and WeChat Pay in East Africa, Xinhua reported.

* Enterprise Group Ltd. Group CEO Keli Gadzekpo said the Ghanaian financial services firm plans to enter the health insurance sector, Joy Business reported.

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

* The Bank of Namibia kept its repo rate on hold at 6.75% to safeguard the level of foreign reserves and maintain the currency peg with the South African rand.

* Strate (Pty) Ltd. appointed André Nortjé as its new CEO, effective Aug. 1. Nortjé will take the helm from Maria Vermaas, the head of Strate's legal and regulatory division who has been serving as interim CEO since September 2017.

* Avior Capital Markets Holdings Ltd. named Justin Charles Larsen financial director, effective immediately. Larsen has been interim financial director since Dec. 29, 2017.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Asia-Pacific: Woori Bank eyes Kyobo Securities; 2 Indian banks' HK branches under scrutiny

Europe: SocGen could sell Belgian, Polish units; Czech banks face tougher capital rules

Latin America: Brazil central bank seeks changes in Itaú-XP deal; Argentina holds key rate

North America: KeyCorp to close 40 branches in 2018; 2 Illinois banks ink $70.4M deal

North America Insurance: Berkshire exits Zurich legacy book auction; Axa, ING in partnership

Deza Mones, Henni Abdelghani, Sophie Davies and Helen Popper contributed to this report.

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