Born in 1964, Souaid officially takes over after embattled former chief Riad Salameh's term expired in July 2023 with no designated successor. Divided politicians had since failed to agree on a permanent replacement for Salameh, who has been accused at home and abroad of financial crimes.

Istanbul, Turkey - Turkey's central bank on Thursday lowered its key interest rate for a third consecutive time as inflation has fallen below 40 percent for the first time since mid-2023. The monetary policy committee "decided to reduce the policy rate from 45 percent" in January to 42.5 percent, the...

Damascus, Syria -- Syrian authorities have appointed Maysa Sabreen as interim central bank governor, a bank official told AFP on Tuesday, the first time a woman heads the financial establishment.Sabreen, until recently the bank's first deputy governor, took her new position on Tuesday, said a department manager at the Central Bank...

The bank's monetary policy committee decided to reduce the policy rate from 50 percent to 47.5 percent, with a statement citing improvement in "inflation expectations and pricing behavior". The last cut was in February 2023.

Beijing, China - China's central bank on Monday said it had cut two key interest rates to historic lows, in the latest move by Beijing to boost sluggish spending and kickstart the world's second-largest economy.The cuts come just days after the country posted its slowest quarterly growth in a year and...

Factors such as increased foreign investment, ambitious urban projects, and favorable regulatory reforms are expected to propel the real estate market forward, creating new opportunities for investors and stakeholders alike.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – Russia's central bank held interest rates unchanged on Friday as Moscow's military offensive on Ukraine has led to stubbornly high inflation and labor shortages.The central bank raised rates to 16 percent in a series of hikes last year to cool the pace of price rises.Analysts are waiting for...

"Financial stability benefits the whole economy and reduces the risk that the central bank becomes reluctant to raise interest rates for fear of causing a financial meltdown," she added.

The Central Bank of the UAE kept the Base Rate for the Overnight Deposit Facility (ODF) steady at 5.40%, aligning its monetary policy closely with that of the US Federal Reserve. In Qatar, the Central Bank has also decided to keep its deposit, lending, and repo rates unchanged at 5.75%,...

Tokyo, Japan -- Japan's largest trade union said Friday it had secured the highest wage hikes since 1991 in preliminary data that stokes speculation the central bank will finally shift away from its outlier ultra-loose monetary policy.The Rengo union said that in spring wage talks so far, its members had secured...

TUNIS, TUNISIA -  President Kais Saied on Thursday appointed a new governor of the central bank of Tunisia, a north African country in the throes of economic hardship.Saied named Fethi Zouhair Nouri, a 69-year-old member of the central bank's board, to succeed Marouane Abassi, 64, whose six-year mandate ends on Saturday,...

The parliament ratified by a huge majority of 92 votes out of 133 an amendment to an article that prohibited the central bank from financing the public treasury. The new measure allows the central bank to lend the state US$2.2 billion to be repaid without interest in 10 years after...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) saw its balance sheet soar to $182.43 billion at the end of November 2023, marking a significant surge in its financial strength. This impressive growth is revealed in the bank's latest balance sheet report.The report highlights a robust 30.4%...

Hong Kong, China - Asian markets fell Wednesday in line with a sell-off across most of the world as traders took their cash off the table after a blockbuster end to 2023, with eyes now on the release this week of Federal Reserve minutes and US jobs data.Equities surged in the...

Following record highs in 2023 for the likes of Paris, Frankfurt and Tokyo, investors are predicting more gains as central banks prepare a series of interest-rate cuts as inflation cools. Oil prices rallied 2.5 percent on supply concerns after Iran dispatched a warship to the Red Sea in response to...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) said Thursday cash deposits surged to AED 687.2 billion ($187.2 billion) this October, marking a substantial annual increase of 10.2 percent, or AED 63.7 billion, compared to AED 623.5 billion in October 2022.The Central Bank's cash aggregates statistics reveal...

Dubai, UAE--Egypt's annual core inflation rate decelerated by 1.6 percent in October, recording 38.1 percent, down from 39.7 percent in September, according to data released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on Sunday.The monthly core inflation rate rose to 1.8 percent in October compared to 1.1 percent in September...

Abu Dhabi, UAE - The CBUAE will provide UAE nationals with job opportunities across various banking and insurance specializations in an effort to meet the financial sector’s Emiratization objectives during its participation in the 17th annual Tawdheef exhibition taking place between November 13-15, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center...

Washington, United States -- Central bank reserve management remained resilient during a historically volatile year, according to the fourth edition of the World Bank Reserve Management Survey Report.Central banks identified ESG, volatility and risk, and inflation as their main challenges in 2022, the report said. Central banks are becoming increasingly...

The Federal Reserve will likely announce it is holding interest rates at a 22-year high on Wednesday, as it looks to tackle inflation without damaging the resilient US economy. Analysts and traders parsing recent Fed speeches overwhelmingly expect the US central bank to hold rates steady for the second meeting...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- Investments of banks operating in the UAE reached AED 580 billion ($157.90 billion) at the end of July 2023, the highest level in history, according to the latest statistics of the UAE Central Bank.The data showed that investments of banks operating in the country increased by...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia increased 2 percent to SAR 104.6 billion ($27.88 billion) in July 2023, from nearly SAR 102.97 billion during the same month last year, according to the Saudi Central Bank's SAMA monthly bulletin.Consumer spending includes total cash withdrawals, point-of-sale (POS) transactions and e-commerce sales...

Beirut, Lebanon -- Acting Lebanese Central Bank Governor Wassim Mansouri has said the bank will not be providing government lending to cover Lebanon's 2023 state budget deficit. This applies to both the Lebanese lira and the US dollar."The Central Bank has no plans to address the nation's deficit through government...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia boasts the world's largest Islamic finance market, with combined Islamic assets across various sectors surpassing $826.6 billion (SAR 3.1 trillion), Ayman Al-Sayari, the Governor of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and Chairman of the IFSB's Council said in his opening address at the 20th...

BEIRUT, LEBANON - The vice-governors of Lebanon's central bank plan to resign unless politicians swiftly name an incoming governor, two senior officials at the crisis-hit country's top financial body told AFP on Thursday.The term of embattled three-decade chief Riad Salameh ends this month with no successor in sight, setting the stage...

A former assistant of Riad Salameh, the governor of Lebanon's central bank, has been charged with money laundering by France. Last year, France, Germany and Luxembourg seized assets worth $130mn in a move linked to a probe into Salameh's wealth. He is accused of having amassed a fortune during his...

The Fed recently paused its aggressive cycle of rate increases after 10 consecutive hikes, to give policymakers more time to weigh the effects of existing moves on inflation. At the same meeting, a majority of members on the Fed's rate-setting committee indicated they see interest rates rising twice more before...

Manama, Bahrain -- Treasury bills valued at Bahrain Dinar 70 million ($185 million) issued this week by the Central Bank of Bahrain have been oversubscribed 109 percentThe bills, carrying a maturity of 91 days, are issued by the CBB, on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The issue...

KUWAIT- Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) announced that the broad money supply (M2) went up by 0.3 percent last May to settle at US$130.6 billion (KD 39.6 billion).Local banks' private sector deposits increased by 0.6 percent to settle at US$119.4 billion (KD 36.2 billion), revealed the CBK's economic research department,...

The Turkish leader pushed the central bank to start slashing interest rates two years ago as part of a "new economic model" that focuses on job creation and economic growth. The policy badly backfired and nearly cost the veteran Turkish leader last month's general election. The annual inflation rate reached...

Foreign currency reserves, representing 94 percent of total assets, fell nearly 2 percent year-on-year in May to SAR 1.56 trillion ($416 billion). The majority of Saudi Arabia's reserve assets are held in US dollars (about 70 percent)

Tehran, Iran--Qatar and Iran are looking to boost monetary and banking cooperation that would propel all-round development of trade between the two countries.In this connection, the governors of the central banks of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Qatar held talks in Doha.Iranian central bank governor Mohammad Reza Farzin traveled...

Abu Dhabi, UAE - The balance sheet of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) surpassed AED594 billion ($161 billion) by the end of March 2023, marking the largest level ever in its history, a CBUAE report has revealed.In its budget report for March 2023, the apex bank said that...

Hiring in the United States heated up again in May, according to government data released, with the strong labor market defying expectations of a slowdown amid efforts to cool the world's biggest economy. The jobs market has been surprisingly robust even as regulators have worked to ease demand and tamp...

Lebanon has received an Interpol red notice requesting the arrest of central bank governor Riad Salameh after a French magistrate issued a warrant this week, a judicial official said. Salameh, 72, has been the target of a series of judicial investigations both at home and abroad on allegations including fraud,...

Manama, Bahrain--The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announces that the monthly issue of the Sukuk Al-Salam Islamic securities has been oversubscribed by 197%.Subscriptions worth BD 84.706 million were received for the BD 43 million issue, which carries a maturity of 91 days.The expected return on the issue, which begins on...

Muscat, Oman--The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has raised $36.35 million by way of allotting treasury bills on Tuesday, the bank said in a statement.The statement said the value of the allotted treasury bills amounted to $26 million, for a maturity period of 28 days.The average accepted price reached OMR99.645...

Cairo, Egypt--Egypt’s current account deficit fell 77.2 percent to $1.8 billion in the first half of the North African country’s current fiscal year.According to its central bank, the deficit reduction was fueled by Egypt’s current account turning a $1.41 billion surplus in the October to December quarter of 2022 as...

Manama, Bahrain -- The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announced that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al Ijara, has been oversubscribed by 403 percent.Subscriptions worth BD 104.778 million ($277 million) were received for the BD 26 million issue, which carries a maturity of 182 days.The...

BERN, SWITZERLAND - Switzerland's central bank said Friday that the country's banking regulations needed toughening up after the implosion of Credit Suisse, while the sector also needed to ensure proper competition for services."Banking regulation and supervision will have to be reviewed in light of recent events," Swiss National Bank chairman Thomas...

The members also exchanged views on progressing the implementation of Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) to advance the international taxation agenda.

Under investigation both at home and abroad on suspicion of fraud, money laundering and illicit enrichment, Riad Salameh has been summoned for a hearing in Paris next month. He is part of a political class widely blamed for the country's economic crisis that the World Bank says is of a...

The global economic slowdown and swelling interest rates are pummeling debt-ridden developing countries, the UN warned, urging bold global action to ward off catastrophe. In a fresh report, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development cautioned that poorer countries were expected to suffer as higher interest rates eat away...

Cairo, Egypt-- Egypt's financial inclusion has widened as total ownership of transactional accounts reached 64.8 percent of the total 65.4 million eligible adult population at the end of 2022.The financial inclusion, according to the country's central bank, increased 147 percent between 2016 and 2022 to 42.3 million citizens who own...

Dubai, UAE – Jordan’s Ministry of Finance and Central Bank Wednesday said they have completed the issuance of $1.25 billion Eurobonds in global markets at a fixed coupon rate of 7.5 percent due in January 2029.The Ministry has reduced the coupon rate by 25 basis points from 2022's issue of...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The Central Bank of the UAE Friday revoked the license of Russia's MTS Bank's, which was granted last year.The bank said that under its supervision, the operations of MTS bank, which is licensed in Abu Dhabi, would be wound down within six months. Revocation of MTS's...

Manama, Bahrain – The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has issued treasury bills with a maturity period of 12 months.The issue date of the bills is 23 March 2023 and the maturity date is 21st March 2024.The weighted average rate of interest is 6.17 percent compared to 6.31 percent of...

Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh maintained his innocence following a second day of questioning before European investigators in Beirut as part of a probe into his personal wealth. Salameh, 72, is part of the Lebanese political elite widely blamed for a crushing economic crisis that began in late 2019.

Salameh had been summoned to appear on Wednesday but failed to show up, alleging that "the presence of international judges in Lebanon and the investigation into the financial matters is in conflict with national sovereignty". The judiciary rejected his claim and the session was rescheduled for Thursday.

Officially pegged at 15,000 to the dollar, the pound was trading at 100,000 against the greenback, dealers said -- a dizzying plunge from 1,507 before the economic crisis hit in 2019. The currency's market value was at around 60,000 to the dollar in late January.