In 2023, the finance industry is expected to face increasingly challenging circumstances due to the deterioration of economic output and rising interest rates. This situation will have a significant impact on finance houses, particularly in North America and Europe, where governments are likely to provide assistance. Although Asia will also experience difficulties, the impact will be somewhat less severe. The current capital market crunch will impede the progress of numerous technology firms that aimed to disrupt established companies in banking, payments, and other sectors. Consequently, finance houses worldwide will encounter more demanding conditions characterized by slowing economic growth, rising prices, fluctuating interest rates, and escalating international political tensions.
In the face of these challenges, the MENA region, especially the GCC countries, has significantly strengthened its resilience over the past decade. This has been achieved through measures such as bolstering capital and liquidity positions and divesting from non-core activities and markets.
While stakeholders may have reservations due to past oversights, such as the Abraj Capital incident, we are committed to supporting regulators, shareholders, and boards in steering enterprises clear of such pitfalls.
Our organization has collaborated closely with the financial industry to understand and address the impacts on their operational models. We possess deep knowledge of capital and financial markets frameworks, including the Central Banks and Capital Market Authorities of GCC countries, as well as institutions such as ADGM and DIFC in the UAE and SAMA in Saudi Arabia. We have provided support to non-banking financial institutions (NBFCs) in areas such as the Basel framework, prudential compliance, core operating systems, credit and operational risk management, internal audit, and AML/CFT measures. Furthermore, our expertise includes offering expert secondments to assist with various financial challenges.
