The governor of Saudi Arabia’s central bank, Dr Fahad Al-Mubarak, sees growth potential in consumer banking and SMEs, and is helping banks better cater to these sectors. 

US shale production has significantly altered the landscape of the global energy market. Ahead of the Institute of International Finance's annual spring meeting in Qatar, James King looks at how OPEC is responding to this seismic shift.

The Middle East's private equity market had a successful year in 2014, with several notable deals, a number of vehicles closing their fundraising and increased international interest in the market. James King investigates how likely it is that its popularity will extend into 2015.

There are commentators within the country who claim that the Saudi Arabian economy and its banking environment may well be the best in the world, with strong profits, a high level of capital investment and robust demographics. But there are concerns that small and medium enterprises do not have enough access to lending, providing a new focus for bank efforts.

The naming of the first woman CEO at a Saudi investment bank is one of several signs that the country's banking sector is redressing its gender imbalance.

Despite a drop in oil revenues, Saudi Arabia’s economy remains the envy of most countries in the world, boosted by government spending and the vibrant non-oil private sector. Not satisfied with this, the government is instigating major social reforms in the labour market and in education. 

Three senior figures from the Islamic finance industry discuss how sharia-compliant project finance has fared in 2013 after a stellar decade, and look at its prospects – with a particular focus on sukuk – for 2014 and beyond.

The Arab world has captured the wrong kind of attention in recent years as the Arab Spring uprisings and their aftermath have dominated global headlines. However, The Banker's Top 100 Arab Banks rankings show a banking industry that is well capitalised and well run.