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UAE Banks Federation Approves 2023 Strategy to Develop Banking Sector

UAE Banks Federation Approves 2023 Strategy to Develop Banking Sector
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UAE Banks Federation Approves 2023 Strategy to Develop Banking Sector

UAE Banks Federation Approves 2023 Strategy to Develop Banking Sector

The UAE Banks Federation (UBF) recently held its annual general meeting, chaired by Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, the Chairman of the Federation.

The members of UAE Banks Federation (UBF) approved recently the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 26th April 2022, along with the audited financial statements and the auditors' report for 2022. The Board of Directors was absolved of any liabilities arising from their duties for the financial year ending 31st December 2022, and the auditors for 2023 were appointed.

The meeting approved the objectives and strategic plans for 2023 presented by the UAE Banks Federation Board of Directors, which aim to develop the banking sector and strengthen its position under the supervision of the Central Bank of the UAE.

According to state news agency WAM, the plan "includes Emiratization, with the goal of employing 5,000 UAE nationals by 2026, and working with the Emirates Institute of Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS) to design a training program to prepare future banking and financial sector leaders."

The participants praised the role of the UBF General Secretariat in strengthening cooperation with banking associations and federations in friendly countries, enabling dialogue and knowledge sharing. They also commended the role of the General Secretariat in expanding membership by adding more regional, international, and digital banks operating in the country, contributing to increased cooperation among all banks and financial institutions under the Federation, which now has 58 members.

UBF Chairman Al Ghurair expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the Central Bank of the UAE for its continuous support to the Federation and guidance to its members. He praised the close cooperation with strategic partners in ensuring the development of the sector in line with international regulations and the strategies of the UAE leadership.

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Business

France Lowers Growth Forecast, Will Miss Deficit Target

French Minister for Economy, Finance, and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure gestures as he speaks during a press conference to update the governments growth and fiscal deficit forecasts for the 2027 budget, at the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry in Paris, France, September 11, 2026. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
French Minister for Economy, Finance, and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure gestures as he speaks during a press conference to update the governments growth and fiscal deficit forecasts for the 2027 budget, at the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry in Paris, France, September 11, 2026. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
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France Lowers Growth Forecast, Will Miss Deficit Target

French Minister for Economy, Finance, and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure gestures as he speaks during a press conference to update the governments growth and fiscal deficit forecasts for the 2027 budget, at the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry in Paris, France, September 11, 2026. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
French Minister for Economy, Finance, and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure gestures as he speaks during a press conference to update the governments growth and fiscal deficit forecasts for the 2027 budget, at the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry in Paris, France, September 11, 2026. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

France's economy will grow less than expected this year and the government will miss its budget deficit target, Finance Minister Roland Lescure said on Friday.

The downgraded outlook complicates the government's task of getting its 2027 budget passed in the coming months in a deeply divided parliament, where parties have hardened their positions before an April-May two-round presidential election.

Lescure told journalists he was lowering the government's 2026 economic growth forecast to 0.5% from 0.7% previously, but stuck with a ⁠projection of 1.0% ⁠for next year.

"This year has been marked by extreme crises involving four different types of shocks," Lescure told reporters, according to Reuters.

Slower growth will make it more difficult for the government to trim its fiscal budget deficit as planned to 5.0% of economic output this year.

"The ⁠reality is that the budget was built on a 5% assumption. And the reality is that, today, 5% is no longer an option," Lescure said.

The minister did not give a new deficit target.

The economic fallout from the war in the Middle East and summer heatwaves and drought that hit agriculture output have dragged down growth and put the government's fiscal targets out of reach.

"I think it is reasonable to say that economic ⁠uncertainty has ⁠never been greater than it is today," Lescure said. "We are operating under tight budgetary constraints; there is no more fat to trim."

Further complicating the picture, French borrowing rates have surged in recent weeks as investors have identified France as one of the weaker links in a global bond selloff due to its weak public finances and serial slippage on its deficit-reduction plans.

Lescure stressed that France had no difficulties in issuing debt, but acknowledged that it now cost more.

Business

ECB Policymakers Open Door to More Rate Hikes on Energy Risk

The logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) is pictured outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo
The logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) is pictured outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo
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ECB Policymakers Open Door to More Rate Hikes on Energy Risk

The logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) is pictured outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo
The logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) is pictured outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo

Two European Central Bank policymakers opened the door on Friday to further interest rate increases if a war-fueled rise in energy prices continues and pushes up other prices in the euro zone.

The ECB raised borrowing costs on Thursday for the second time this year and sources told Reuters policymakers expect further policy tightening in the months ahead, with a move possible as early ⁠as October.

The central ⁠bankers of Germany and Estonia acknowledged this prospect on Friday although they both stressed any move would depend on how oil and gas prices develop.

Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said the ECB might need to raise rates to a level that mildly curbs the economy.

"I will not exclude that we have to ⁠go into the mild restrictive territory, but as I said, it's very much dependent on how the energy prices evolve, how the price picture is evolving over the course of maybe the next month," he told CNBC in an interview, according to Reuters.

The euro zone central bank increased its key rate from 2.25% to 2.50%, bringing it to the upper end of its estimated neutral range, which neither stimulates nor slows down the economy.

Money markets have started pricing in at least another three ECB rate hikes over the next ⁠year.

Ülo Kaasik, ⁠Estonia's central bank governor, said such expectations were "understandable" given the latest increase in fuel prices and the risk that food would also become more expensive.

"Recent developments in energy markets, for example, indicate the possibility that the price increase for gas and fuels will be much larger and last longer than expected in the forecast," he said in a blog post.

Slovenia's central bank governor Primož Dolenc also warned in a blog post about "rising energy and electricity costs in the autumn and winter months".

The ECB on Thursday slightly increased its projections for growth and inflation but these did not capture the latest energy price moves.

Business

Dollar Holds Gains, Yen Slips as Middle East Energy Shock Deepens

14 January 2020, Iraq, Baghdad: US dollar banknotes are pictured at a currency exchange service provider. (dpa)
14 January 2020, Iraq, Baghdad: US dollar banknotes are pictured at a currency exchange service provider. (dpa)
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Dollar Holds Gains, Yen Slips as Middle East Energy Shock Deepens

14 January 2020, Iraq, Baghdad: US dollar banknotes are pictured at a currency exchange service provider. (dpa)
14 January 2020, Iraq, Baghdad: US dollar banknotes are pictured at a currency exchange service provider. (dpa)

The dollar held near its highest levels of the past week in Asian trading on Friday as renewed fears of energy supply disruptions in the Middle East pushed up bond yields and oil prices.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading flat at 99.084, after strengthening to its highest level since September 7 during the previous session. The rise followed the release of data showing US producer prices increased 0.4% in August, meeting market expectations as energy prices rebounded during the month.

"The safe-haven US dollar gained on risk-aversion flows, helped by higher energy prices that have lifted the chance of a Fed hike next week to 70%," said ‌Tony Sycamore, market ‌analyst at IG in Sydney.

Energy prices snapped a five-day gaining streak, with Brent crude ‌futures ⁠down 0.6% at $106.99 ⁠a barrel in Asian trade.

But both major benchmarks remained above the $100 mark earlier this week, with WTI futures surging across the threshold on Thursday for the first time since May 21.

Against the yen, the US dollar was down 0.2% at 154.105 yen and on track for its second consecutive week of declines, while the euro slipped 0.2% to 178.99 yen after the European Central Bank hiked interest rates on Thursday for the second time this year.

The Japanese currency regained ⁠some strength after data released on Friday showed wholesale inflation rose 7.6% in August ‌from a year earlier, bolstering the case for a rate ‌hike this month.

The Bank of Japan is set to raise interest rates next week, most likely by 25 basis points, and ‌may signal faster future tightening if price pressures heighten risks of an inflation overshoot, four sources familiar with ‌its thinking told Reuters.

The kiwi dollar was up 0.5% at $0.5827, retracing a selloff on Thursday that has put the currency on track for its third week of declines. New Zealand's 10-year government bond yields rose by 15.5 basis points to 5.06% on Friday, extending the biggest two-day jump in borrowing costs since last year's "Liberation Day" selloff.

"New Zealand seems to have been hit harder ‌than most in the latest leg of the bond market sell-off," said Thomas Mathews, head of markets for Asia Pacific at Capital Economics in Wellington.

The Australian dollar ⁠was up 0.2% at $0.7167.

Both ⁠the euro and the British pound were level against the dollar at $1.1609 and $1.3503, respectively.

PRESSURE BUILDS ON FEDERAL RESERVE

Markets are awaiting the release of US CPI later on Friday, one of the last major economic data points released before the Federal Reserve meets next week.

Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 71.1% probability of a 25-basis-point hike at the US central bank's next two-day meeting ending on September 16, compared with a 61.2% chance in the previous trading session, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Fixed-income markets remained uneasy after the US Treasury Department tripled the size of its long-dated bond repurchase, with a gauge of bond volatility rising to its highest level in a month. The yield on US 10-year government bonds was up 1.5 basis points at 4.957%.

"10-year US Treasury yields are within striking distance of 5%, as the markets have reassessed the Fed's path higher while term premium is appropriately hovering near pre-GFC levels," Barclays analysts wrote. "We remain of the view that bonds are not cheap yet and catalysts for a rally do not appear imminent."

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was down 0.2% at $77,094.41 while ether was 0.1% lower at $2,457.96.