The Finance World Magazine| Edition: March 2023

Cryptocurrency News
Investopia Partners with Emirates Development Bank for a Brighter
Investment Future
The UAE government’s global
investment platform, Investopia,
has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with Emirates
Development Bank as part of a new
partnership. The agreement was signed
at a ceremony in Dubai on February
6th, 2023 and was witnessed by H.E.
Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of
Economy and Chairman of Investopia.
This partnership will allow both Investopia
and Emirates Development Bank to
collaborate and utilize their strengths to
promote economic growth, diversification,
and industrial transformation in new
economies. Investopia serves as a global
investment platform connecting capital
with opportunities, while Emirates
Development Bank is a leading financial
institution.
GCC Central Banks Follow
US Fed’s Lead with Interest
Rate Hikes
The Central Bank of UAE and
other central banks in the GCC
raised their interest rates after
the US Federal Open Market
Committee (FOMC) announced a 25
basis points increase as part of its
efforts to manage inflation. The GCC
central banks, whose currencies are tied
to the US dollar, generally follow the
Federal Reserve’s policy rate changes.
Inflation in the GCC has been around
5-6% in 2022, higher than in the past
ten years but still lower compared to
western nations. The Saudi Central
Bank, also known as SAMA, increased
its repo and reverse repo rates to 5.25%
and 4.75% respectively. The central bank
of Bahrain also raised its benchmark
interest rates by 25 basis points, with
the overnight deposit rate at 5.25%
and the one-week deposit facility rate
at 5.50%.
Iris Health Services Loses UAE Central Bank License
for Non-Compliance
The Central Bank of the UAE
(CBUAE) announced that
it has revoked the license
of Iris Health Services for
failing to follow relevant guidelines.
The regulator stated that the license
revocation was in accordance with
the procedures and regulations for
licensing health insurance third-party
administrators. Iris Health Services is a
company that provides medical benefit
and claims administration services.
The CBUAE is closely monitoring the
insurance sector to ensure that all
companies comply with local laws. In
The Abu Dhabi Commercial
Bank (ADCB) is seeing success
in its efforts to adopt digital
innovation and maintain high
standards in ESG, as the bank reported
AED 6.434B ($1.75B) in net profits for
the 2022 fiscal year, a 23% increase
from the previous year. The bank
also experienced a rise in net interest
income to AED 10.194B ($2.77B), up
15% from the previous year, while noninterest
income increased by 22% to
June 2022, it imposed penalties on two
insurance companies for not meeting
regulatory requirements, with one of
them banned from selling insurance
to new customers for a year.
ADCB Achieves Record Net Profit with Boost from
Digital Innovations
AED 4.151B ($1.13B). During the fourth
quarter, the bank saw a 23% increase in
net profit to AED 1.784B ($0.48B), with
a 30% increase in net interest income
to AED 2.918B and a 19% increase in
net fees and commission income to
AED 620M.
62 www.thefinanceworld.com March 2023