The United Arab Emirates is exposed to the ebbs and flows of the global economy like few other regional markets. As one of the great centres of east-west and south-south trade, the country was hit hard by the financial crisis. But its recovery, off the back of a fragile global economic revival and improving domestic output, has been equally swift.
The UAE’s banking sector is now setting the regional standard in terms of profitability and asset growth, while maintaining prudent capital levels and liquidity ratios. With gross domestic product (GDP) growth expected to hover between 4% and 5% in 2014 and 2015, the banking sector’s medium-term prospects are promising.
