Lucy Frost

Oct 31, 2023 | euromoney.com | Lucy Frost

Turkey’s central bank last week rolled back its controversial penalties for banks that breach interest rate caps of 1.8 times the policy rate. The rules, which were some of the more than 200 regulations introduced in the second half of last year, required banks to buy Turkish government bonds if they breached the cap. Low lending rates have been a pain point for Turkish banks, which have been further hit by additional regulations on deposits.

Oct 15, 2023 | euromoney.com | Lucy Frost

Nordea Bank brought its innovative sustainability-linked loan bond (SLLB) in euros to the market at the end of August. It was the second issuance under its sustainability-linked loan funding framework, which the bank has taken pains to stress involves the issue of neither green bonds nor sustainability-linked bonds but something different: a standard use-of-proceeds bond to fund a portfolio of sustainability-linked loans (SLLs).

Oct 2, 2023 | euromoney.com | Lucy Frost

Digitalization is a central theme in finance – and Islamic finance is no different. There has been much speculation about what digital sukuk could mean for the market and its potential to accelerate the growth in adoption of these instruments. Digital sukuk offerings could make a complicated market more straightforward, with standardized documentation and easy access for investors worldwide, but this will need a standardized cross-border approach. And that’s no small ask.

Sep 28, 2023 | euromoney.com | Lucy Frost

The UAE, particularly Dubai, has seen an influx of high net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high net-worth (UHNW) individuals in recent years. The first six months of 2022 saw an 18% increase in HNW individuals in the emirate, up to 67,900 from 54,000 in June 2021, according to data from New World Wealth and wealth migration consultancy Henley & Partners. Around 4,500 HNW individuals are forecast to move to Dubai in 2023, according to research by Henley & Partners.

Jul 20, 2023 | euromoney.com | Lucy Frost

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB)’s AT1 issuance surprised the market last week with overflowing orderbooks for a tightly priced sukuk that marked the first tier-1 issuance in emerging markets since the wipe-out of Credit Suisse’s AT1s in March this year. The GCC bank was able to price the sukuk with a profit rate of 7.25%, only marginally higher than the AT1 this transaction is expected to refinance, an outstanding sukuk callable in September with a 7.125% coupon.