Moreover, CBFS provides customers with secure platforms to trade on Qatar Stock Exchange-listed stocks, bonds and treasury bills. Customers can trade directly through numerous channels during trading hours i.e. online and mobile trading applications from anywhere during market trading hours. Clients can also call directly at CBFS dealing room phone lines to place their trades. In addition, CBFS provides periodic local and global market economy and company research for clients to help them make informed investment decisions.

International Finance Magazine spoke to Shahnawaz Rashid, Director, Commercial Bank Financial Services, where he discussed how CBFS intends to stay on top with core enhancements and future updates.

Shahnawaz Rashid said, “We would like to thank International Finance for recognizing the innovation and awarding us with the Most Innovative Mobile Trading App for the second consecutive year.”

“Despite the recent success, CBFS is keen to maintain its innovation culture since it is a strategic goal. The next step for innovation is to bring smarter utilization by customers through the usage of data science and machine learning to deliver a seamless reallocation of customer limits that will further personalize users’ trading and investment experiences. It will understand your behavior and trading patterns to ascertain customer limit requirements,” Shahnawaz Rashid explains.

Data is the most crucial element of today’s trading infrastructure. This element allows the provider to establish a one-to-one relationship with its clients and ensures that all operations remain relevant to the market needs. With this in mind, he says that CBFS is willing to take the use of data to the next level.

He said, “One of the things that we’re trying to do with big data is to say that we can predict things, for example, by identifying previous patterns and explaining to clients the results of these patterns and then we can propose potential solutions to them”.

Shahnawaz Rashid is aware that all these new technologies have one thing in common. They have the potential to disrupt the financial services industry in a meaningful way, where simplicity and functionality will be the core and driving forces behind financial operations.

“Through continuously investing heavily in our mobile application, CB Waseet, we want to stay up-to-date with technological trends and adapt it to make it easier for everyone, from seasoned investors and beginners to trade on. The iterations and tweaks are released regularly and at off-peak times to ensure that we have a robust, stable platform for our clients during trading hours and no disruption is faced by the users. CBFS, works with the agility of a start-up and is, therefore, able to bring first-to-market services,” he added.

Shahnawaz Rashid wants the CBFS product offering to remain ahead of the industry.

“I believe we are at a tipping point because the world is transforming with globalization, regulations, etc. Many things are changing, and, with the Football World Cup 2022 in Qatar, the attention is for everyone including ourselves to provide world-class services” he concluded.

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The award reflects Ahli United Bank’s distinct position as the top employer in Kuwait’s banking sector.

Ahli United Bank won this award for the outstanding accomplishments it made in the field of human resources, particularly its HR strategy, which focuses on luring in the most qualified professionals, developing their skills, and engaging with them constantly.

HR Department took various initiatives to ensure smooth operation even while working remotely and took on tasks related to hiring, planning, training, development, and performance management.

Additionally, the HR Department was successful in converting the traditional yearly performance review process into ongoing performance management year-round, which improved communication between Senior Management and staff.

Ahli United Bank was also able to take the lead in change management by engaging in the bank’s transformation project, which put an emphasis on improving workers’ productivity in terms of their ability to use technology and perform data analysis.

By enforcing the internal communication plan and promoting active participation on the in-house IConnect platform, Ahli United Bank also ensures to keep its staff informed about transformational developments.

It was decided to bestow AUB this prestigious award after the International Finance Magazine carried out an initial assessment of the nominees. Following this, it referred the particulars to an external assessment agency to determine the nominees’ final level and to select the award winner.

After that, the winner is announced through a point system that includes the results of the initial assessment, and external agents with input from various experts in the banking industry.

Speaking about global recognition, HR General Manager at Ahli United Bank, Mr. Naqeeb Amin said, “This award emphasizes the success of the Bank’s efforts in developing and maintaining an attractive work environment for the best banking talents, given that the Bank’s employees are the cornerstone of its development and success in achieving its goals, through its direct reliance on the application of a forward-looking policy in managing and developing employees and enhancing their skills in line with the highest international standards.”

“We are introducing a unique and successful experience in Human Resources Department. Hence, our ability to retain a large number of the bank’s employees for more than 30 years, and who have managed to accomplish their career ambitions through an interactive environment between employees and management, that enables them to exchange experiences with each other is apparent evidence of our success in dealing with employees being the bank’s most valuable wealth,” Mr. Naqeeb Amin added.

Mr. Naqeeb Amin concluded by praising all of Ahli United Bank’s HR staff members for their earnest efforts and outstanding performance, which resulted in bagging this prestigious award.

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In Q1 of 2022, Regency’s business model evolved to make all savings and investment products available to individual non-institutional investors. Expats and global investors have commended Regency’s decision to disrupt the market by allowing individual savers access to products previously restricted to corporate clients. Over the last ten years, the market has applauded Regency for its forward-thinking customer-centric approach toward financial services.

Global influence
Regency Financial Services is a subsidiary of Regency Assurance, a distinguished global insurance, pension, and savings provider. The firm has proven its ability to implement risk-managed and results-driven solutions. Today, Regency serves over 120 countries, providing insurance and financial solutions to individuals, companies, and government organisations worldwide, and influences international financial markets and business practices.

Stephen Coughlin, Director at Regency Financial Services, said, “As the number one expat savings, investment, and insurance plan provider, we have a responsibility to our international clients (both individual and corporate). Historically, individual expats have struggled to access investment and savings vehicles previously available only to large organisations. Therefore, our policy has evolved, enabling the wider general public to benefit from Regency’s unique, transparent, and fully guaranteed fixed-interest savings plans.”

“Regency’s exclusive investment vehicles are safe, secure, and transparent. All fixed interest plans are financially guaranteed and underwritten, globally transferable, offer flexible terms, and have fixed and transparent rates with no hidden fees. In addition, all products are available in multiple currencies,” he added.

Unique savings and investment products
Individuals can now take advantage of the Regency’s global savings and investments and plan for future savings and investment growth. Their insurance-wrapped savings and investment platforms support pensions, retirement plans, education funds, and insurance bonds.

Bespoke financial solutions
The introduction of the level playing field allows individual savers and investors to choose how and when they want to receive interest payments. For example, Regency’s Access Plan offers fixed interest, which guarantees a monthly income. The interest payments will be the same throughout the term, and the value of the savings will remain intact. Alternatively, you could achieve more remarkable growth and performance via the accumulated plan, whereby compound interest can yield greater returns over the program term.

Exclusive asset-backed investments
Guaranteed fixed interest vehicles offer a guaranteed interest rate which provides a monthly income (or compound annual income) of between 4% and 6%. In 2021, Regency’s asset-backed property portfolio and investments generated steady growth of 12.91%. In the same year, private equity investments generated the most substantial performance growth of 27.25%.

Rates and terms
Regency’s term options include a 10% bonus uplift if the unit allocation is applied to the 10-year term, 15% for 15 years and 20% for 20 years.

Instant access to fixed interest – LIVELIFE Direct Debit Visa Card
To make life easier for savers, Regency has forged an exclusive relationship with Visa to provide the Regency LIVELIFE Debit Card, which allows instant access to ‘fixed’ interest payments. These can be accessed and spent globally.

Simplified application
Expats can also benefit from faster and more secure application processes that enable them to access a range of savings and investments quickly and start to accumulate wealth faster.

The post Regency wins big at International Finance Awards 2022 appeared first on International Finance.

Mitch Hopkinson

Mortgage enquiries from overseas buyers and British expats are up 45 per cent in Quarter 4, compared to the previous quarter, revealed the mortgages division of deVere United Kingdom and the deVere Group.

The observation from deVere Mortgages, which offers advice to British expats and foreign nationals looking to buy property in the UK, comes against a shifting political and economic landscape.

deVere Mortgages has received an unprecedented level of enquiries this last quarter.  There has been a remarkable uptick in home loan enquiries in Quarter 4 – and we’ve not yet even finished it.

To analyse these findings, first it should be acknowledged that they are more astonishing given that the government’s change in tax policy regarding Buy to Let in recent years was expected to severely dampened overseas investor interest.

Also Brexit appears not to have dented the UK’s traditional boast of being an attractive country for those residing overseas, largely due to the ongoing fundamental strengths of British residential property investments.

There are, we believe, two key drivers for the increase in Quarter 4.

With sterling down sharply since the Brexit vote, UK property has effectively put a ‘for sale’ sign up for the many overseas investors who want to establish a presence in the UK.  These might include investors simply wishing to diversify their property portfolio, or UK expats looking to buy a place to return to when they retire or to house a child while they are at university.

These investors are looking to buy now while a weak sterling works in their favour. As we appear to be increasingly moving to a ‘soft’ Brexit, sterling has already climbed in recent weeks. The more ‘soft’ Brexit the government becomes, the more sterling will rally.

Another reason to buy now is that UK sterling mortgages have probably one way to go now: up. Record low mortgage rates are being pulled as sterling funding costs go up for the banks and other lenders, reflecting the increased risk of inflation in the economy.

The vast majority of overseas buyers are foreign nationals and British expats in the Gulf Region and East Asia.

In order to meet the growing demand from both UK and overseas buyers, deVere Mortgages looks set to double its headcount of independent mortgage consultants by the end of 2017.

Mitch Hopkinson is Head of Advice & HNW, deVere United Kingdom

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In a survey of 100 UK CEOs, KPMG found that nearly 60 percent believe their ability to do business will be hindered once Brexit takes place if UK privacy rules are not aligned to the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The GDPR has been at the forefront of minds of many CEOs since the European Commission officially ratified the privacy rules in April 2016. This new legislation is the biggest and most impactful change in privacy and data protection regulation in history. In May 2018, when it will be enforced, it will affect organisations in the UK and worldwide that have any dealings with consumers and businesses in EU member countries. If the rules are not met by business, they will face significant sanctions of up to €20M or 4% of global annual turnover – whichever is higher, from regulators.

Mark Thompson, Global Privacy Advisory lead at KPMG said: “The worry amongst this cohort of CEOs is understandable. Once GDPR is enforced in May 2018, it will fundamentally alter the way we live, work and interact with technology, organisations and each other. This revolution will transform the scale, scope and complexity of personal information processed, with personal information being a core component of everything we do.

“Whilst the UK is likely to implement the GDPR, Brexit poses some uncertainty on what GDPR will mean to the UK post-Brexit, it is critical to understand that if the UK is going to continue to trade with the EU this free flow of personal information must be maintained. As such we will need to have an ‘adequate privacy ecosystem’ in operation in the UK which is aligned to the requirements of the GDPR.

“Statements issued by the UK Government suggest that the UK will adopt the GDPR while it negotiates its exit from the EU. What remains to be seen is whether the GDPR is subsequently repealed and replaced with something else.

“The UK privacy regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, remains adamant regarding the need for strong, equivalent privacy law in the UK regardless of the outcome of Brexit. It therefore seems likely that a GDPR equivalent privacy framework will be here to stay and organisations should prepare accordingly.”

What should organisations do?

Commenting on what organisations should do, Thompson said: “The requirements being introduced by the GDPR are going to require most organisations to make significant enhancements to their privacy control environment and rethink the way they collect, store, use and disclose personal information. These changes are going to be complex and take time, as such, most organisations cannot afford to wait and see what form Brexit takes. Doing so would leave them with insufficient time to prepare.”

There are some immediate steps organisations should take to prepare themselves. These are:

1. Raise awareness at the board level – the board needs to understand the implications of the GDPR and be bought into the need to make enhancements. This should result in the funding being made available to undertake a privacy improvement programme.
2. Understand current state and set desired state – conduct a gap analysis against the GDPR to understand where your organisation is exposed to risk and determine what the risk appetite is.
3. Plan and implement – create a detailed plan to enable the desired risk appetite to be reached and undertake a privacy Improvement programme to deliver against this plan.

The post UK CEOs fear EU privacy rules will impact business appeared first on International Finance.

Replacing Iran’s civil aviation fleet has been one of the biggest economic opportunities in recent times. Despite Iran’s need for new planes to replace those from the sanctions era, it has entered the market at a time when Boeing, Airbus and other small airplane makers are facing a downturn in orders, and are therefore expected to offer heavy discounts.

“Boeing has announced that its IranAir contract is worth $16.6 billion. However, considering the nature of our order and its choice possibilities, the purchase contract for 80 Boeing aircraft is worth about 50 percent of that amount,” said Deputy Transport Minister Asghar Fakhrieh.

The government of President Hassan Rouhani has pushed to finalise aircraft deals to show results from the end of sanctions. He faces criticism at home from hardliners over the cost of the purchases.

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Earlier in the week, Saudi Arabia’s Shura council discussed plans to impose a 2 to 6 percent tax on expat workers’ remittances, following a proposal submitted by former council member Husam Al Angari. He proposed an initial tax of 6 percent for the first five years of the expat’s residency, which would then drop to 2 percent.

The latest statistics from the World Bank show Saudi Arabia accounts for the second highest volume of remittances after the US, with $37 billion in 2015.

The post Saudi’s plan to tax expats on hold for now appeared first on International Finance.

IFM Correspondent

December 23, 2016: Barclays has opened up an opportunity for fintech startups in South Africa, it aims to accelerate the growth of startups in the financial service industry by allowing them to work with financial technology experts in the coming year.

The bank opened the Barclays Accelerator Programme powered by Techstars -“an initiative aimed at uncovering the next M-Pesa or Paypal”. Ten qualifying fintech startups will be given the opportunity to take part in the 13 week programme, beginning in May 2017.

The participants will be given the opportunity to expand their global footprint through Barclays, as well as with Barclay’s extension of its innovative arm in Africa, Rise- that has over 20,000 startups in its network around the word.

Yasaman Hadjibashi, leading the innovation agenda for the bank says: “Africa has tremendous untapped potential to not only pioneer its own creative solutions for its unique contexts, but to also create solutions that the rest of the world can adopt for their own contexts.”

This is the second time Barclays is opening this window for fintech startups after its first venture was successful. The bank previously collaborated with 7 of the 10 startups that participated in the programme.

Barclays says its accelerator programme “offers companies an advantage over others by providing a proven curriculum and lifelong access to the Techstars global network of mentors, investors and venture capitalists”.

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IFM Correspondent

December 23, 2016: Deutsche Bank AG said it reached a $7.2 billion agreement to resolve a year-long U.S. investigation into its dealings in mortgage-backed securities, removing a legal hurdle that fuelled investor angst.

Deutsche Bank will pay a $3.1 billion civil penalty and provide $4.1 billion in relief to consumers under a settlement in principle with U.S. authorities. While the deal is below the Justice Department’s initial request of $14 billion, Germany’s biggest lender still faces U.S. investigations into other matters and potentially expensive civil suits. John Cryan, CEO, Deutsche Bank, has made resolving litigation a priority.

“The financial consequences, if any, of the consumer relief are subject to the final terms of the settlement, and are not currently expected to have a material impact on 2016 financial results,” the bank said.

There were concerns that Deutsche Bank may not be having enough capital when the bank said in September that the U.S. Justice Department had made the opening request of $14 billion and that it had no intention of paying that amount.

Deutsche Bank also faces civil lawsuits related to claims that its traders manipulated key interbank interest rates. It isn’t clear how much more wrapping up these cases will cost.

The post Deutsche Bank to finally settle US mortgage probe appeared first on International Finance.

Benita James

December 21, 2016: Africa’s demography is showing a visible shift and many analysts have reason to believe that the continent has the largest youth population in the world. A young population is generally considered as beneficial and it is correlated with economic development. The World Bank estimates that this demographic dividend could generate 11-15% GDP growth between 2011 and 2030.

What does this demographic transition mean for Africa? Firstly, the large pool of young population creates domestic demand, which is hugely advantageous to domestic firms. Secondly, there will be a visible increase in the standard of living along with an increase in per capita income.

However, the growing young population in Africa comes with its own set of challenges. An area of concern is the lack of jobs available to young people. According to UN reports, the working age population is poised to more than double in least-developing countries, especially sub-Saharan Africa between 2015 and 2050. Consequently, many of them are forced to take up menial jobs and the continent faces high levels of underemployment.

Africa’s workforce is growing at a faster pace compared to the jobs that are available both in the private as well as public sector. Therefore, encouraging entrepreneurship is of vital importance.

Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder and CEO of SoleRebels, says, “Africa must not only create jobs but challenge itself to create great jobs. Africa must create such kind of companies that young people aspire to work for.”

Investment in human capital is critical, as the young people of Africa present tremendous economic potential. A reform in the continent’s education sector would be beneficial as this would equip the youth with the skill set and technical know-how that many jobs require.

This transition has freed resources as there are fewer dependants now. The freed resources can be used to increase per capita spending on higher quality of health and education, ultimately leading to economic growth.

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