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Bahrain's GIB sets initial price for bond issue
Bahrain's Gulf International Bank (GIB) has said its initial price guidance for its Saudi bond issue will be at 130 to 140 basis points above the Saudi interbank offered rate (Sibor), MEED has reported. The bond will be offered through private placement and will be riyal dominated with a tenor of three years.
Visa launches money transfer in UAE
Visa Inc. has announced the launch of its money transfer service in the UAE, the Associated Press has reported. The payments processor will work with UAE Exchange, a remittance and exchange house. The service is expected to launch later this month, bringing the number of countries in which the service is available to 14.
Gulf Bank posts profit
Egypt-based lender, Gulf Bank has reported a net profit for the first nine months of 2009 of EGP71.7m, a 14% fall compared to EGP83.7m during the same period of 2008, Reuters has reported. The bank had added provisions of EGP5.85m during the quarter, down from EGP41.9m in the 2008 period.
CBQ dollar bond issue would list on LSE
Commercial Bank of Qatar has said that any potential US dollar bond issue would be listed on the London Stock Exchange, Reuters has reported. The issue will take the form of Tier II capital or senior notes, the bank said.
Pioneers moots Beltone stake
Egypt's stock exchange has said that Pioneers Holding is in talks to buy a stake in investment bank Beltone Financial, Reuters has reported. 'Pioneers Holding said there was contact between the company and Beltone for acquiring a percentage of the capital [of Beltone],' the exchange said in a statement, adding that the two firms had not yet reached an agreement.
Amlak, Tamweel merger to begin in January
The UAE's Minister of Economy has said the planned merger of mortgage lenders Amlak Finance and Tamweel will begin in January, Bloomberg has reported. 'We are moving very forward in that and as we promised, in January 2010 we will start implementing the solution,' Sultan Bin Saeed Al-Mansouri told reporters at a conference in Dubai yesterday.
Egypt's NSGB net profit drops 20%
National Societe Generale Bank, Egypt's fourth-biggest bank by assets, said it posted a 20% drop in third-quarter net profit, beating analysts' forecasts, Reuters has reported. The bank's net profit fell to 224 million Egyptian pounds ($41m), beating the 214.9 million pounds average forecast of four analysts polled by the news service. NSGB Chairman Mohamed El-Dib said the results put the bank in a good position to benefit from economic recovery in 2010, but warned of a decline in the creditworthiness of some customers.
CBQ launches bond roadshow in US
Qatar's third-biggest lender by market value, Commercial Bank of Qatar, is launching a roadshow today that aims at attracting US investors for a potential bond issue, Reuters has reported. The bank's last US roadshow took place in 2006 with a $500m bond as part of a $1.5bn Euro medium term note programme.
Boubyan Bank posts Q3 loss
Kuwait-based Islamic lender, Boubyan Bank, has reported a third-quarter loss, compared with a profit in the year-earlier period, Bloomberg has reported. The lender's loss had stood at KD5.5m ($19m), compared with a net income of KD5.6m.
Al Baraka eyes acquisition in Indonesia
Bahrain-based Al Baraka bank has returned to its strategy of growing through acquisitions in Asia and plans to spend $30m to $50m to buy a bank in Indonesia, the lender's CEO told Reuters. 'Indonesia is a target market for us. We have a representative office there and one of its responsibilities is to find a target,' Adnan Yousif said. "Bank Kesawan is one of them.'
Mizuho to launch investment bank in Saudi
Japan's third-largest bank by market value, Mizuho Financial Group, has received a license to start offering investment-banking services in Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg has reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. Mizuho joins Nomura Holdings, Japan's biggest brokerage, in starting investment-banking operations in the kingdom.
Arab Bank 9-month profit falls
Jordan-based Arab Bank recorded a 25% fall in net profit in the nine months to September, after increasing its bad loan provisions in the third quarter, Reuters has reported, citing the lender's financial statements. The bank had allocated $54.6m in provisions for non-performing loans in the third quarter, pushing up total provision at September 30 to $742m from $647.5m in the same period last year, the statements showed.
Gulf Finance House raises $300m in rights issue
Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House has said it had raised $300m in fresh capital through a rights issue, slightly short of its initial $345m target, Reuters has reported. GFH had offered around 908 million shares for $0.38 each in the rights issue that closed last week. The lender had undertaken the rights issue to repair its balance sheet after posting three consecutive quarterly losses.
Mashreqbank mulls investment in Dubai bond
UAE-based Mashreqbank says it may consider purchasing part of Dubai's planned $10bn debt issue, Reuters has reported. 'We're always examining what the opportunities are to invest and we have surplus liquidity now,' Mashreqbank chief executive Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair told the news service.
Arab Bank appoints executive general manager
The board of Jordan-based Arab Bank has approved the creation of the post of executive general manager, and announced that Nemeh Sabbagh will be the first to occupy this position starting January 17, 2010, Jordan Times has reported. Sabbagh will be steering the everyday operations of the bank under his new post, which was created in accordance with corporate governance requirements issued by the Central Bank of Jordan and accredited by the board, the bank said.
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