The MENA H1 2023 Banking Report analyzes banking activities in the MENA region. It provides in depth insights in terms of sector insights, banking performance, outlook for the financial year and macroeconomic overview.
GCC banks will remain resilient in 2023 despite uncertainty. The GCC banking sector has gone through a fundamental transformation and has been on a growth trajectory. This development is playing an increasingly important role in the region's overall economic growth. Risks include economic slowdown, exposure to riskier countries and liquidity shortages.
The outlook for the GCC region has been strengthened by strong oil prices and the related improvement in non-oil activity, which has also supported the credit demand in the region. In the future, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) banking sector is expected to grow largely driven by the increasing demand for banking services and the growth of digital banking. Additionally, regulatory reforms such as the introduction of Basel IV, are expected to have a positive impact on the sector.
Digital transformation is the future of the MENA banking sector. Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the MENA financial services industry, bringing faster and personalized banking services through chatbots. Among other priority areas are digital banking, mobile payments, open banking, tokenization, digital currencies, blockchain and sustainable finance. Banks are also developing new customer experience initiatives aimed at shifting competition away from products to lifestyle banking. Digital banking with a wider drive toward ecosystem models, mobile payments, open banking, blockchain and sustainable finance are prominent trends.
MENA banks are increasingly investing in digital banking solutions to address the ever-evolving needs of their customers while balancing customer experience and risk management. By strengthening their risk management technologies and systems, banks are boosting their ability to withstand potential financial risks and comply with regulatory requirements.
Meanwhile, front-to-back modernization, cloud migration and robotic process automation can help banks establish connections between customer-facing operations and back-end servicing, minimizing inefficiencies.
