Policy Study

Implications of FTA on UAE Banks

An explorative assessment

D r. Belaid Rettab
Tarek Abu Fakhr
Dr. Abdulaziz Istaitieh
Table of Contents

Executive Summary (Arabic) ............................................................................................. 1

Executive Summary (English) ........................................................................................... 5

1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 9

2. Objective .......................................................................................................................... 11

3. Data and Methodology ................................................................................................... 12

3.1 Data ............................................................................................................................. 12

3.2 Methodology ............................................................................................................... 12

4. Structure of the UAE and USA Banking Sectors ......................................................... 13

4.1 Overview ..................................................................................................................... 13

4.2 UAE vs. USA Banks ................................................................................................... 15

4.3 National vs. Foreign UAE Banks ................................................................................ 16

5. Performance Indicators of UAE and USA Banking Sectors ....................................... 18

5.1 UAE vs. USA Banks ................................................................................................... 18

5.2 National vs. Foreign UAE Banks ................................................................................ 21

6. Evaluation and Conclusion ............................................................................................ 23

References ............................................................................................................................ 27

1
 ‫ﻤﻠﺨﺹ ﺘﻨﻔﻴﺫﻱ‬

‫ﺘﻤﺎﺸﻴﺎ ﻤﻊ ﺨﻁﻭﺍﺕ ﺘﻭﻗﻴﻊ ﺍﺘﻔﺎﻗﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﺘﺠﺎﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﺤﺭﺓ ﻤﻊ ﺍﻟﻭﻻﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﺤﺩﺓ‪ ،‬ﻭﺍﻨﺴﺠﺎﻤﺎ ﻤﻊ ﺍﻟﺘﺯﺍﻤﺎﺘﻬﺎ ﺇﺯﺍﺀ ﺍﻻﺘﻔﺎﻗﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻤﺔ ﻟﻠﺘﺠﺎﺭﺓ ﻓﻲ‬
‫ﺍﻟﺨﺩﻤﺎﺕ ﺘﺤﺕ ﻤﻅﻠﺔ ﻤﻨﻅﻤﺔ ﺍﻟﺘﺠﺎﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﺘﺩﺭﺱ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺯﻴﺩ ﻤﻥ ﺘﺤﺭﻴﺭ ﻗﻁﺎﻋﺎﺘﻬﺎ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺭﻓﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﺎﻟﻴﺔ‪.‬‬

‫ﻓﻲ ﻋﺎﻡ ‪ ،2004‬ﺒﻠﻎ ﻋﺩﺩ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﺘﻲ ﺘﻌﻤل ﻓﻲ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺕ ‪ 46‬ﻤﺼﺭﻓﺎ ﺘﺠﺎﺭﻴﺎ )‪ 21‬ﻤﻨﻬﺎ ﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﻭﻁﻨﻴﺔ( ﻟـﺩﻴﻬﺎ ‪449‬‬
‫ﻓﺭﻋﺎ‪ ،‬ﻭﺫﻟﻙ ﻤﻘﺎﺭﻨﺔ ﺒـ ‪ 8,580‬ﻤﺼﺭﻓﺎ ﻭ‪ 63,684‬ﻓﺭﻋﺎ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻭﻻﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﺤﺩﺓ‪ .‬ﻓﻲ ﺤﻴﻥ ﻜﺎﻥ ﺍﻟﺘﻭﺴﻊ ﻓﻲ ﺘﺄﺴـﻴﺱ ﺍﻟﻔـﺭﻭﻉ‬
‫ﻤﺘﺴﺎﻭﻴﺎ ﺘﻘﺭﻴﺒﺎ ﺒﺎﻟﻨﺴﺒﺔ ﻟﻺﻤﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﻭﻻﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﺤﺩﺓ‪ ،‬ﺇﻻ ﺃﻥ ﻤﺘﻭﺴﻁ ﻋﺩﺩ ﺍﻟﻤﻭﻅﻔﻴﻥ ﻭﺤﺠﻡ ﺍﻷﺼﻭل ﻓﻲ ﻜل ﻤﺼﺭﻑ ﺃﻋﻠﻰ ﻓﻲ‬
‫ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﻤﻥ ﻨﻅﻴﺭﺘﻬﺎ ﺒﺎﻟﻭﻻﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﺤﺩﺓ‪ .‬ﻭﻴﻤﻜﻥ ﺘﻔﺴﻴﺭ ﺫﻟﻙ ﺃﻥ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺘﻴﺔ ﺘﺘﻁﻠﺏ ﺍﺴﺘﺜﻤﺎﺭﺍ ﺃﻜﺜﺭ ﻓـﻲ ﺍﻷﺼـﻭل‬
‫ﻭﺍﻟﻌﻤﺎﻟﺔ ﻟﺘﻘﺩﻴﻡ ﺨﺩﻤﺎﺕ ﻤﺘﺸﺎﺒﻬﺔ‪.‬‬

‫ﻴﻌﺘﺒﺭ ﻤﺘﻭﺴﻁ ﺍﻷﺼﻭل ﺍﻷﺠﻨﺒﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻭﺍﺤﺩ‪ ،‬ﻭﻤﺘﻭﺴﻁ ﺍﻟﻭﺩﺍﺌﻊ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻭﺍﺤﺩ‪ ،‬ﻭﻤﺘﻭﺴﻁ ﺍﻻﻟﺘﺯﺍﻤﺎﺕ ﺍﻷﺠﻨﺒﻴﺔ‬
‫ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻭﺍﺤﺩ‪ ،‬ﻭﻤﺘﻭﺴﻁ ﺭﺃﺱ ﺍﻟﻤﺎل ﻭﺍﻻﺤﺘﻴﺎﻁﻴﺎﺕ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻭﺍﺤﺩ‪ ،‬ﺃﻋﻠﻰ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﻤﻘﺎﺭﻨﺔ ﺒﺎﻟﻭﻻﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﺤﺩﺓ‬
‫ﻭﺫﻟﻙ ﻁﻴﻠﺔ ﺍﻟﻔﺘﺭﺓ ‪ 1999‬ـ ‪ .2004‬ﻭﻴﻌﻜﺱ ﺫﻟﻙ ﺍﻟﻌﺩﺩ ﺍﻟﻬﺎﺌل ﻤﻥ ﺍﻟﻌﻤﻼﺀ ﻟﺩﻯ ﻜل ﻤﺼﺭﻑ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﻭﻴﺒـﻴﻥ ﺠﺎﺫﺒﻴﺘﻬـﺎ‬
‫ﻤﻘﺎﺭﻨﺔ ﺒﺎﻟﻭﻻﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﺤﺩﺓ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻷﺠﻨﺒﻴﺔ ﺍﻷﺨﺭﻯ‪.‬‬

‫ﺒﺎﻹﻀﺎﻓﺔ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺫﻟﻙ‪ ،‬ﺘﺘﻔﻭﻕ ﺭﺒﺤﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺘﻠﻙ ﺍﻟﺘﻲ ﺘﺤﻘﻘﻬﺎ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻭﻻﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﺤﺩﺓ‪ .‬ﻭﺍﻨـﺴﺠﺎﻤﺎ‬
‫ﻤﻊ ﺫﻟﻙ‪ ،‬ﺴﻭﻑ ﻴﺠﻌل ﺍﻟﻌﺎﺌﺩ ﺍﻟﻤﺭﺘﻔﻊ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻷﺼﻭل ﻭﺍﻷﺴﻬﻡ‪ ،‬ﻗﻁﺎﻉ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺘﻴﺔ ﺃﻜﺜﺭ ﺠﺎﺫﺒﻴﺔ ﻟﻠﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻷﻤﺭﻴﻜﻴـﺔ‪.‬‬
‫ﻭﺴﻭﻑ ﺘﺴﻌﻰ ﺍﻷﺨﻴﺭﺓ ﻟﻠﺩﺨﻭل ﺇﻟﻰ ﺍﻟﺴﻭﻕ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺘﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﻤﺘﻊ ﺒﻤﻌﺩﻻﺕ ﺍﻷﺭﺒﺎﺡ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﻭﺃﻥ ﺘﻌﻤل ﻋﻠﻰ ﺘﺤﺴﻴﻥ ﺍﻟﻘﺭﻭﺽ ﻏﻴﺭ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻤﻨﻔﺫﺓ ﻋﺒﺭ ﺍﻹﺩﺍﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﺤﺩﻴﺜﺔ‪.‬‬

‫ﺘﺸﺠﻊ ﺍﺘﻔﺎﻗﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﺘﺠﺎﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﺤﺭﺓ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﺘﺤﺭﻴﺭ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﻨﺎﻓﺴﺔ‪ ،‬ﻭﻜﺫﻟﻙ ﺘﻔﺘﺢ ﻓﺭﺹ ﺃﻤﺎﻡ ﺸﺭﻜﺎﺕ ﺠﺩﻴﺩﺓ ﻭﺘﺤﺴﻥ ﻤﻥ ﻜﻔـﺎﺀﺓ ﺍﻟﻘﻁـﺎﻉ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺭﻓﻲ‪ .‬ﻴﻨﺘﺞ ﻋﻥ ﺍﻟﻤﻨﺎﻓﺴﺔ ﺸﻔﺎﻓﻴﺔ ﻭﺘﺤﻜﻡ ﺃﻓﻀل ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﺴﻭﻕ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﻟﻲ‪ .‬ﺒﺎﻟﻨﺴﺒﺔ ﻟﻠﻤﺴﺘﻬﻠﻙ‪ ،‬ﺘﺅﺩﻱ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺨﺩﻤﺎﺕ ﺃﻓﻀل ﻭﺃﺭﺨﺹ‬
‫ﺴﻌﺭﺍ ﻭﺒﺎﻟﺘﺎﻟﻲ ﺇﻟﻰ ﻓﺎﺌﺽ ﺍﺴﺘﻬﻼﻜﻲ ﺃﻋﻠﻰ‪.‬‬

‫ﻟﺫﻟﻙ‪ ،‬ﻭﺒﻤﺎ ﺃﻥ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ ﺃﻜﺜﺭ ﺜﺭﺍﺀ ﻨﺴﺒﻴﺎ ﻭﻤﻊ ﺍﺯﺩﻴﺎﺩ ﺤﺩﺓ ﺍﻟﻤﻨﺎﻓﺴﺔ‪ ،‬ﻓﺈﻥ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﻗﻴﺎﺱ ﺃﺩﺍﺌﻬـﺎ‬
‫ﻤﻘﺎﺭﻨﺔ ﺒﺄﻓﻀل ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﻭﺃﻥ ﺘﻠﺤﻕ ﺒﺭﻜﺏ ﺍﻟﻤﻤﺎﺭﺴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺭﻓﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ‪.‬‬

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 ‫ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻤﺴﺘﻭﻯ ﺍﻟﺠﺯﺌﻲ‬

‫ﺘﺤﺘﺎﺝ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺘﺒﻨﻲ ﺍﺴﺘﺭﺍﺘﻴﺠﻴﺎﺕ ﺠﺩﻴﺩﺓ ﻟﻠﻨﻤﻭ‬

‫ﻓﻲ ﺤﻴﻥ ﻴﻤﻜﻥ ﺍﻋﺘﺒﺎﺭ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﻤﺤﻅﻭﻅﺔ ﺒﺴﺒﺏ ﺍﻟﻅﺭﻭﻑ ﺍﻻﺴﺘﺜﻨﺎﺌﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﻭﺠﻭﺩﺓ ﻭﺩﻴﻨﺎﻤﻴﻜﻴـﺔ ﺍﻟـﺴﻭﻕ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻤﻌﺎﺼﺭﺓ‪ ،‬ﺇﻻ ﺃﻨﻪ ﻭﻤﻥ ﺃﺠل ﺘﺤﻘﻴﻕ ﻤﺯﻴﺩ ﻤﻥ ﺍﻻﺯﺩﻫﺎﺭ ﻓﺈﻨﻬﺎ ﺘﺤﺘﺎﺝ ﺇﻟﻰ‪:‬‬

‫ﺃ‪ .‬ﺘﻁﻭﻴﺭ ﺍﺴﺘﺭﺍﺘﻴﺠﻴﺎﺕ ﺠﺩﻴﺩﺓ ﻟﻠﻨﻤﻭ ﻟﺘﺤﻘﻴﻕ ﺍﻗﺘﺼﺎﺩ ﺍﻟﻭﻓﺭﺓ‪ .‬ﻴﻤﻜﻥ ﺃﻥ ﺘﻠﺠﺄ ﻫﺫﻩ ﺍﻻﺴﺘﺭﺍﺘﻴﺠﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﺠﺩﻴﺩﺓ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺭﺃﺱ ﻤـﺎل‬
‫ﺃﻜﺜﺭ ﺘﺤﺩﻴﺎ ﻭﺘﺭﺍﻜﻡ ﻟﻼﺴﺘﺜﻤﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﺇﻀﺎﻓﺔ ﺇﻟﻰ ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺎﺕ ﺸﺭﺍﺀ ﻋﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﻟﺘﻌﺯﻴﺯ ﺤﺼﺔ ﺍﻟﺴﻭﻕ ﺍﻹﻗﻠﻴﻤﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ‪،‬‬
‫ﺏ‪ .‬ﺍﻟﺴﻌﻲ ﻻﻨﺩﻤﺎﺠﺎﺕ ﺠﺩﻴﺩﺓ ﺤﺘﻰ ﺘﻜﻭﻥ ﻗﺎﺩﺭﺓ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﺤﺎﻕ ﺒﺎﻟﺘﻁﻭﺭﺍﺕ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ‬
‫ﺕ‪ .‬ﺍﻟﺘﻌﺎﻭﻥ ﺍﻟﺩﻭﻟﻲ ﻤﻊ ﺍﻟﻤﺅﺴﺴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﺒﺎﺭﺯﺓ ﺴﻭﻑ ﻴﻌﺯﺯ ﻤﻥ ﺇﺒﺩﺍﺀ ﺭﺩ ﺍﻟﻔﻌل ﺍﻟﻤﻨﺎﺴـﺏ ﺇﺯﺍﺀ ﺍﻟـﺼﺩﻤﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﻟﻴـﺔ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﻭﻤﻌﺎﻟﺠﺔ ﺘﻘﻠﺒﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﺴﻭﻕ ﺍﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﺘﻭﺯﻴﻊ ﻤﺨﺎﻁﺭ ﺭﺃﺱ ﺍﻟﻤﺎل‪ ،‬ﻭﻀﻤﺎﻥ ﺍﺴﺘﻘﺭﺍﺭ ﻭﺜﻘﺔ ﺒﻴﺌﺔ ﺍﻷﻋﻤﺎل‪.‬‬
‫ﺙ‪ .‬ﺍﺘﺨﺎﺫ ﻤﺒﺎﺩﺭﺍﺕ ﺭﺍﺌﺩﺓ ﻓﻲ ﻤﺸﺭﻭﻋﺎﺕ ﺍﺴﺘﺜﻤﺎﺭﻴﺔ ﺠﺩﻴﺩﺓ ﻓﻲ ﻗﻁﺎﻋﺎﺕ ﺍﻗﺘﺼﺎﺩﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻋﺩﺓ ﻭﻤﺘﻨﻭﻋﺔ‬

‫ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺤﺎﺠﺔ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺘﺤﺴﻴﻥ ﺍﻹﻨﺘﺎﺠﻴﺔ‬

‫‪ .1‬ﻤﻌﺎﻟﺠﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﻭﺍﺌﻕ ﺍﻟﻤﻭﺠﻭﺩﺓ‪ ،‬ﻭﺘﺤﺴﻴﻥ ﺍﻹﻨﺘﺎﺠﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﻭﺘﻌﺯﻴﺯ ﺍﻟﻜﻔﺎﺀﺓ‪ .‬ﻴﻤﻜﻥ ﺍﻟﻘﻴﺎﻡ ﺒﺫﻟﻙ ﻤﻥ ﺨﻼل ﺘﺒﻨﻲ ﺨـﺩﻤﺎﺕ‬
‫ﻗﺎﺌﻤﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﺘﻜﻨﻭﻟﻭﺠﻴﺎ ﺍﻟﺠﺩﻴﺩﺓ ﻭﻤﺤﺎﻓﻅ ﻤﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﻤﺘﻨﻭﻋﺔ‪ ،‬ﻭﺍﻟﻤﺤﺎﻓﻅﺔ ﺒﺸﻜل ﺃﻓﻀل ﻋﻠﻰ ﻤﺠﻤﻭﻋﺔ ﻋﻤﻼﺌﻬﺎ‪.‬‬
‫‪ .2‬ﺘﺤﺩﻴﺙ ﺍﻟﺘﻘﻴﻴﻡ ﺍﻻﺌﺘﻤﺎﻨﻲ ﻭﺘﺤﺴﻴﻥ ﺇﺩﺍﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﻤﺨﺎﻁﺭ ﻋﺒﺭ ﺃﻨﻅﻤﺔ ﻤﺘﻘﺩﻤﺔ ﻟﻤﺘﺎﺒﻌﺔ ﺍﻻﺌﺘﻤﺎﻥ ﻭﺍﻻﺴﺘﺨﺩﺍﻡ ﺍﻟﻜـﻑﺀ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻤﻌﻠﻭﻤﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﻭﻓﺭﺓ ﺤﻭل ﺍﻻﺴﺘﺤﻘﺎﻕ ﺍﻻﺌﺘﻤﺎﻨﻲ‪.‬‬
‫‪ .3‬ﺘﻁﻭﻴﺭ ﺃﻨﻅﻤﺔ ﻤﺼﺭﻓﻴﺔ ﺤﺩﻴﺜﺔ ﻭﺘﻌﺯﻴﺯ ﻗﺩﺭﺍﺕ ﺍﻟﻌﻤﺎﻟﺔ ﻭﺘﺤﺴﻴﻥ ﺍﺴﺘﺭﺍﺘﻴﺠﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﺘﺴﻭﻴﻕ‪.‬‬

‫ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻤﺴﺘﻭﻯ ﺍﻟﻜﻠﻲ‬

‫ﺘﺯﺩﻫﺭ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺒﺎﻷﻋﻤﺎل ﻭﺜﻘﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﺴﺘﻬﻠﻜﻴﻥ‪ .‬ﺘﺘﺤﻘﻕ ﺍﻟﺜﻘﺔ ﺍﻟﻜﺒﻴﺭﺓ ﻤﻥ ﺨﻼل ﺍﻟﺸﻔﺎﻓﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺤﻜﻴﻡ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻷﺴﻭﺍﻕ‪ .‬ﻭﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﺭﻏﻡ ﻤﻥ‬
‫ﺫﻟﻙ‪ ،‬ﻓﺈﻥ ﺘﻁﺒﻴﻕ ﺇﺠﺭﺍﺀﺍﺕ ﺴﻠﻴﻤﺔ ﻭﻤﺭﺍﻗﺒﺔ ﺴﻴﺎﺴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﻨﺎﻓﺴﺔ ﺘﻌﺘﺒﺭ ﻤﻥ ﺍﻟﺸﺭﻭﻁ ﺍﻟﻤﻁﻠﻭﺒﺔ ﻜﺫﻟﻙ‪ .‬ﺇﻥ ﺩﻭﺭ ﺍﻟﺤﻜﻭﻤﺔ ﻓـﻲ ﻫـﺫﺍ‬
‫ﺍﻟﺨﺼﻭﺹ ﻤﻬﻡ‪ .‬ﻜﻠﻤﺎ ﺴﺠﻠﺕ ﺍﻟﺴﻭﻕ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﻨﻤﻭﺍ‪ ،‬ﻜﻠﻤﺎ ﺘﻁﻠﺏ ﺫﻟﻙ ﻤﺯﻴﺩﺍ ﻤﻥ ﺍﻹﺠﺭﺍﺀﺍﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﺘﺎﺒﻌﺔ‪ .‬ﻭﺘﻌﺘﺒﺭ ﺍﻟﻤﻌﺎﻴﻴﺭ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴـﺔ‬
‫ﻫﻲ ﺍﻟﻤﻘﻴﺎﺱ ﻓﻲ ﻫﺫﺍ ﺍﻟﺨﺼﻭﺹ‪ .‬ﻜﻠﻤﺎ ﺃﺴﺭﻋﺕ ﺍﻟﺴﻭﻕ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺘﺤﻘﻴﻕ ﻤﺴﺘﻭﻯ ﺍﻟﺴﻭﻕ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﻜﻠﻤـﺎ ﺒﻜـﺭﺕ ﻓـﻲ‬
‫ﺍﻟﺘﻜﺎﻤل ﻭﺃﺼﺒﺢ ﻤﻥ ﺍﻟﺴﻬﻭﻟﺔ ﻟﻠﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﻟﻌﺏ ﺩﻭﺭ ﺭﺍﺌﺩ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻻﺴﺘﻔﺎﺩﺓ ﻤﻥ ﺍﻷﺴﻭﺍﻕ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﻭﺍﻹﻗﻠﻴﻤﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﻭ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ‪.‬‬

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 ‫ﺍﻟﺘﻜﺎﻟﻴﻑ‬
‫ﺒﺎﻟﻨﺴﺒﺔ ﻟﻠﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺕ‪ ،‬ﻴﻤﻜﻥ ﺘﻠﺨﻴﺹ ﺍﻵﺜﺎﺭ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﻭﻗﻌﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻨﺨﻔﺎﺽ ﺍﻟﺭﺒﺤﻴﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻤﺩﻯ ﺍﻟﻘﺼﻴﺭ ﻨـﺴﺒﺔ ﻟﻠﻤﻨﺎﻓـﺴﺔ‪.‬‬
‫ﺴﻭﻑ ﻴﺘﻭﺠﺏ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻤﻨﺎﻓﺴﺔ ﺤﺘﻰ ﺘﻤﻨﺢ ﻋﻭﺍﺌﺩ ﺃﻜﺜﺭ ﻟﺤﻤﻠﺔ ﺍﻷﺴﻬﻡ‪ .‬ﻗﺩ ﺘﺅﺩﻱ ﺤﺩﺓ ﺍﻟﻤﻨﺎﻓﺴﺔ ﺒـﺴﺒﺏ ﻗﻠـﺔ ﺤـﻭﺍﺠﺯ‬
‫ﺍﻟﺩﺨﻭل ﺃﻤﺎﻡ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻷﺠﻨﺒﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻤﺩﻯ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﻭﺴﻁ‪ ،‬ﺇﻟﻰ ﺩﺨﻭل ﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺠﺩﻴﺩﺓ ﻭﺍﻨﺩﻤﺎﺝ ﺍﻟﻤﻭﺠﻭﺩﺓ ﻤﻨﻬﺎ‪.‬‬

‫ﻗﺩ ﺘﺘﻀﻤﻥ ﺍﻵﺜﺎﺭ ﻏﻴﺭ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﻭﻗﻌﺔ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺯﻴﺎﺩﺓ ﺍﻟﺘﻜﺎﻟﻴﻑ ﺍﻻﻨﺘﻘﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﻟﻠﺘﺸﻐﻴل ﻭﺍﻟﻤﺭﺘﺒﻁﺔ ﺒﺎﻟﺘﺤﻭل ﺍﻟﻤﺘﻭﻗﻊ ﻟﺒﻌﺽ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴـﺔ‬
‫ﻤﻥ ﻜﻭﻨﻬﺎ ﻤﻤﻠﻭﻜﺔ ﻷﺸﺨﺎﺹ ﺇﻟﻰ ﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺫﺍﺕ ﻤﻠﻜﻴﺔ ﻋﺎﻤﺔ‪ ،‬ﻭﻜﺫﻟﻙ ﺘﺩﻫﻭﺭ ﻤﺤﻔﻅﺔ ﺍﻟﻘﺭﻭﺽ‪ ،‬ﻭﺘﺨﻔﻴﺽ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﻟﺭﺅﻭﺱ‬
‫ﺃﻤﻭﺍﻟﻬﺎ‪ .‬ﻟﺫﻟﻙ‪ ،‬ﻭﻷﺠل ﻤﻭﺍﺠﻬﺔ ﺍﻟﺘﺤﺩﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﺘﻲ ﻴﻔﺭﻀﻬﺎ ﺍﻟﺘﺤﺭﻴﺭ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻘﻁﺎﻉ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺭﻓﻲ‪ ،‬ﻗﺩ ﺘﺘﺸﺠﻊ ﺒﻌـﺽ ﺍﻟﻤـﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﻓـﻲ‬
‫ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻻﺴﺘﻌﺩﺍﺩ ﺒﺩﻗﺔ ﻷﺠل ﺍﻻﻨﺩﻤﺎﺝ‪ ،‬ﺇﻤﺎ ﻤﻊ ﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ ﺃﺨﺭﻯ‪ ،‬ﺃﻭ ﻤﻊ ﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺃﺠﻨﺒﻴـﺔ ﺤﺘـﻰ ﺘﻨـﻭﻉ ﻤـﻥ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻤﺨﺎﻁﺭ ﻭﺘﺨﺘﺭﻕ ﺃﺴﻭﺍﻕ ﺨﺎﺭﺠﻴﺔ ﺠﺩﻴﺩﺓ‪.‬‬

‫ﺒﺸﻜل ﻋﺎﻡ‪ ،‬ﻟﻠﺘﺤﺭﻴﺭ ﺘﺄﺜﻴﺭﺍﺕ ﻤﺘﻭﻗﻌﺔ ﻭﺃﺨﺭﻯ ﻏﻴﺭ ﻤﺘﻭﻗﻌﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻋﻭﺍﺌﺩ ﻭﺘﻜﺎﻟﻴﻑ ﻭﻜﻔﺎﺀﺓ ﻭﻤﺴﺘﻭﻯ ﻤﺨﺎﻁﺭ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﻭﺒﺎﻟﺘﺎﻟﻲ‬
‫ﻋﻠﻰ ﻤﺴﺘﻘﺒﻠﻬﺎ ﺍﻟﺦ‪.‬‬

‫ﺍﻟﻔﻭﺍﺌﺩ‬
‫ﻟﺘﺤﺭﻴﺭ ﺩﺨﻭل ﻭﺘﺸﺠﻴﻊ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻷﺠﻨﺒﻴﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻻﻨﻀﻤﺎﻡ ﺇﻟﻰ ﻗﻁﺎﻉ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺘﻴﺔ ﻓﻭﺍﺌﺩ ﻴﺠـﺏ ﻤﻭﺍﺯﻨﺘﻬـﺎ ﻤﻘﺎﺒـل‬
‫ﺍﻟﺘﻜﺎﻟﻴﻑ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﺨﺎﻁﺭ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﻭﻗﻌﺔ‪ .‬ﺘﺸﻤل ﺍﻵﺜﺎﺭ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﻭﻗﻌﺔ ﻤﻥ ﺠﺎﻨﺏ ﺍﻟﻔﻭﺍﺌﺩ ﺘﻌﺯﻴﺯ ﻗﺩﺭﺓ ﻭﺩﻴﻨﺎﻤﻴﻜﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ ﻤﻥ ﺨـﻼل‬
‫ﻓﺘﺢ ﻓﺭﺹ ﺠﺩﻴﺩﺓ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻷﺴﻭﺍﻕ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﻭﻤﻤﺎﺭﺴﺎﺕ ﻭﻤﻌﺎﻴﻴﺭ ﺘﺠﺎﺭﻴﺔ ﺃﻓﻀل‪ ،‬ﺍﻟﺘﻜﻨﻭﻟﻭﺠﻴﺎ‪ ،‬ﻤﻨﺘﺠﺎﺕ ﻭﺨﺩﻤﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﺴﻌﺔ‪ ،‬ﻭﺃﻨﻅﻤـﺔ‬
‫ﻹﺩﺍﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﻤﺨﺎﻁﺭ‪ .‬ﻜﺫﻟﻙ ﻫﻨﺎﻟﻙ ﻤﻜﺎﺴﺏ ﻟﻠﻤﺴﺘﻬﻠﻜﻴﻥ ﺘﺘﺤﻘﻕ ﻋﺒﺭ ﺘﺨﻔﻴﺽ ﻫﻭﺍﻤﺵ ﺼﺎﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻔﺎﺌﺩﺓ‪ ،‬ﻗﻠﺔ ﺘﻜـﺎﻟﻴﻑ ﺍﻟﺨـﺩﻤﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﺘـﻲ‬
‫ﺘﺅﺩﻯ ﻤﻘﺎﺒل ﺭﺴﻭﻡ ﻭﻭﻓﺭﺓ ﻤﺠﻤﻭﻋﺔ ﻜﺒﻴﺭﺓ ﻭﻤﺘﻨﻭﻋﺔ ﻤﻥ ﺍﻟﺨﺩﻤﺎﺕ‪.‬‬

‫ﻗﺩ ﺘﺸﻤل ﺍﻵﺜﺎﺭ ﺍﻹﻴﺠﺎﺒﻴﺔ ﻏﻴﺭ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﻭﻗﻌﺔ ﻨﻤﻭﺍ ﺃﺴﺭﻉ ﻟﻼﻗﺘﺼﺎﺩ ﻭﺤﻤﺎﻴﺘﻪ ﻤﻥ ﺍﻟﺼﺩﻤﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﺨﺎﺭﺠﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ ﻜﺫﻟﻙ‪ .‬ﺒﺎﻹﻀﺎﻓﺔ ﺇﻟﻰ‬
‫ﺫﻟﻙ‪ ،‬ﺘﺠﻌل ﺍﻟﻤﻨﺎﻓﺴﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﺯﺍﻴﺩﺓ ﺠﺭﺍﺀ ﺍﻟﺘﺤﺭﻴﺭ ﻤﻥ ﺍﻟﻤﻬﻡ ﻟﻠﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﻤﻭﺍﺼﻠﺔ ﺠﻬﻭﺩﻫﺎ ﺍﻟﺘﺴﻭﻴﻘﻴﺔ ﺒﺼﻭﺭﺓ ﺃﻜﺜﺭ ﻨﺸﺎﻁﺎ‪ ،‬ﻭﺘﺤﺩﻴـﺩﺍ‬
‫ﻤﻥ ﺨﻼل ﺘﻨﻭﻴﻊ ﻤﻨﺘﺠﺎﺘﻬﺎ ﻭﺨﺩﻤﺎﺘﻬﺎ ﻭﺃﺴﻭﺍﻗﻬﺎ ﻭﺘﺤﺴﻴﻥ ﺨﺩﻤﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻌﻤﻼﺀ ﻟﺩﻴﻬﺎ‪ .‬ﻓﻲ ﺤﻴﻥ ﺃﻥ ﺫﻟﻙ ﺴﻭﻑ ﻴﺯﻴﺩ ﺘﻜـﺎﻟﻴﻑ ﻭﻨﻔﻘـﺎﺕ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻤﺩﻯ ﺍﻟﻘﺼﻴﺭ‪ ،‬ﺇﻻ ﺃﻥ ﺍﻟﻔﻭﺍﺌﺩ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻤﺩﻯ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﻭﺴﻁ ﻭﺍﻟﻁﻭﻴل ﺘﻔﻭﻕ ﻋﺎﺩﺓ ﻤﺜل ﻫﺫﻩ ﺍﻟﺘﻜﺎﻟﻴﻑ‪ .‬ﺃﺨﻴـﺭﺍ‪ ،‬ﻴـﺴﺎﻋﺩ‬
‫ﺍﻟﺘﺤﺭﻴﺭ ﻓﻲ ﻗﻴﺎﻡ ﺇﻁﺎﺭ ﻋﻤل ﺃﺸﺭﺍﻓﻲ ﻭﻗﺎﻨﻭﻨﻲ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﻭﻴﻌﺯﺯ ﻤﻥ ﺍﻟﺸﻔﺎﻓﻴﺔ ﺒﺸﻜل ﻋﺎﻡ‪.‬‬

‫ﺴﻭﻑ ﻴﺩﺨل ﺍﻟﻘﻁﺎﻉ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺭﻓﻲ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺘﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺴﺒﺎﻕ ﻴﺤﺎﻭل ﻜل ﻤﺘﺴﺎﺒﻕ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺘﻭﻓﻴﺭ ﺨﺩﻤﺎﺕ ﺃﻓﻀل ﻭﺃﺴﺭﻉ‪ .‬ﻭﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﺭﻏﻡ ﻤـﻥ‬
‫ﺫﻟﻙ ﺴﻭﻑ ﻴﻜﻭﻥ ﻟﻠﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺤﺎﻓﺯﺍ ﻤﻥ ﺃﺠل ﺍﻟﺩﺨﻭل ﻓﻲ ﻤﺸﺎﺭﻴﻊ ﻤﺭﺘﻔﻌﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﺨﺎﻁﺭ‪ .‬ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻤﺩﻯ ﺍﻟﻁﻭﻴل‪ ،‬ﻤﻥ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﻭﻗﻊ ﺤـﺩﻭﺙ‬
‫ﻤﺯﻴﺩ ﻤﻥ ﺍﻻﻨﺩﻤﺎﺠﺎﺕ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻘﻁﺎﻉ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺭﻓﻲ‪ .‬ﺴﻭﻑ ﺘﻔﻀل ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻜﺒﻴﺭﺓ ﺍﻻﺴﺘﺤﻭﺍﺫ ﺃﻭ ﺍﻻﻨﺩﻤﺎﺝ ﻤﻊ ﻤـﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺃﺨـﺭﻯ‬
‫ﻭﺫﻟﻙ ﺒﺩﻻ ﻤﻥ ﺍﻹﻨﻔﺎﻕ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﺘﺴﻭﻴﻕ ﻭﺍﻹﻋﻼﻥ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺍﻟﺠﻤﻬﻭﺭ‪.‬‬

‫‪4‬‬
‫ﺃﺨﻴﺭﺍ‪ ،‬ﻤﻥ ﺍﻟﻤﺤ‪‬ﺘﻡ ﺃﻥ ﺘﺴﺎﻫﻡ ﺍﻟﻤﻨﺎﻓﺴﺔ ﺍﻟﺤﺎﺩﺓ ﻤﻥ ﻗﺒل ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻷﻤﺭﻴﻜﻴﺔ ﺫﺍﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺴﺘﻭﻯ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺩﺨﻭل ﺍﻟﻜﺜﻴﺭ ﻤﻥ ﻤﺜـل‬
‫ﻫﺫﻩ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺍﻟﺴﻭﻕ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺘﻴﺔ‪ .‬ﻭﻤﻊ ﺫﻟﻙ‪ ،‬ﻭﻤﻊ ﻗﻴﺎﻡ ﻫﺫﻩ ﺍﻟﺩﺭﺍﺴﺔ ﺒﻤﻘﺎﺭﻨﺔ ﺍﻟﺨﺼﺎﺌﺹ ﺍﻟﻤﺭﺘﺒﻁﺔ ﺒﻬﻴﻜل ﻭﺃﺩﺍﺀ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ‬
‫ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺘﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻷﻤﺭﻴﻜﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﻭﺘﻘﻴﻴﻡ ﺒﻌﺽ ﺁﺜﺎﺭ ﺩﺨﻭل ﻤﺯﻴﺩ ﻤﻥ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻷﻤﺭﻴﻜﻴﺔ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺍﻟﺴﻭﻕ ﺍﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ ﻋﻘﺏ ﺍﻟﺘﺤﺭﻴﺭ‪ ،‬ﻓﺈﻨﻬﺎ ﻟـﻡ‬
‫ﺘﺘﻁﺭﻕ ﺇﻟﻰ ﻗﺩﺭﺍﺕ ﻭﺇﻤﻜﺎﻨﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻹﻤﺎﺭﺍﺘﻴﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﺨﺘﺭﺍﻕ ﺍﻟﺴﻭﻕ ﺍﻷﻤﺭﻴﻜﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﻭﻫﻭ ﻤﻭﻀﻭﻉ ﺃﺴﺎﺴﻲ ﻴﺠﺏ ﺍﻟﺘﻁﺭﻕ ﺇﻟﻴﻬﺎ‬
‫ﻓﻲ ﺩﺭﺍﺴﺎﺕ ﻤﺴﺘﻘﺒﻠﻴﺔ‪.‬‬

‫‪5‬‬
Executive Summary

In accordance with its thrust towards signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the USA, and
in line with its commitments to the General Agreement of Trade in Services under the WTO
umbrella, the UAE is studying further liberalization of its banking and financial sectors.

In 2004, the UAE hosted 46 commercial banks (of which 21 were national banks) with 449
branches, compared to 8,580 banks and 63,684 branches in USA. While the relative branch
expansion during 1999 – 2004 was almost the same in UAE and USA, the average number of
employees and assets per bank in UAE were higher than in USA. This could be interpreted in a
way that UAE banks require more investment in assets and employment to provide equal
services.

Average foreign assets per bank, average deposits per bank, average foreign liabilities per bank,
and average capital and reserves per bank were higher in UAE than in USA throughout the
period 1999 – 2004. This reflects the huge number of customers per UAE bank and magnifies
their attractiveness to USA and other foreign banks.

Furthermore, profitability of UAE banks exceeded that of the USA. Consistently, high ratios of
return on assets and return on equity, will make the UAE banking sector more attractive to USA
banks. The latter would seek to enter the UAE market enjoying high profit rates and capitalize on
improving non-performing loans through modern management.

FTAs induce liberalization and competition. It opens opportunities to new players and improves
efficiency of the banking sector. Competition results in better financial market transparency and
arbitration. For the consumer, it entails better and cheaper services and consequently higher
consumer surplus.

Therefore, as local banks are relatively wealthier and as competition is getting fiercer, banks in
the UAE will have to benchmark themselves against the world’s best performers and catch up
with international banking practices.

6
At Micro level

Local banks need to adopt new growth strategies

As local banks in the UAE could be considered fortunate due the existing exceptional
opportunities and contemporary market dynamics, in order to thrive further they need to:

a. Develop new growth strategies to achieve economy of scale. New growth strategies could
resort to more aggressive capital and investment accumulation combined with
international acquisitions to boost regional and international market share,
b. To opt for new ventures of consolidations in order to be able to keep abreast with
international developments,
c. International cooperation with prominent funds would enhance timely reaction to
international financial shocks, temper local market volatility, spreading capital risks, and
ensure stable and confident business environment,
d. Take leading initiatives in new perspective-full investment-ventures in promising but
diversified economic sectors.

Local banks need to improve productivity

i. Tackle and resolve existing bottlenecks, improve productivity, and enhance efficiency.
This could be done through adoption of new-technology based services, diversified
portfolio, and better maintained stock of their clientele.
ii. Upgrade credit assessment and improve risk management through advanced credit
monitoring systems and efficient use of available credit worthiness information.
iii. Develop modern banking systems and enhance manpower competencies and improved
marketing strategies.

7
At Macro level

Banks thrive with business and consumers confidence. Higher confidence is achieved through
market transparency and arbitration. However, enforcement of sound regulations and monitored
competition policies are pre-requisites as well. The role of the government in this respect is
crucial. The more the financial market is growing, the more sophisticated regulation and
monitoring it requires. International standards are the guidelines in this respect. The sooner the
local financial market will achieve the level of international markets the earlier it will get
integrated and the easier it will be for the banks to play leading role in taping from local, regional
and international financial markets.

Generally speaking, liberalization has foreseen and unforeseen implications on banks’ revenues,
costs, efficiency, risk level, and consequently their future outlook, etc.

Costs
For the UAE banks, foreseen implications can be summarized by reduced profitability in the
short term due to competition. Banks will have to compete to offer higher returns to
shareholders. Fiercer competition owing to lower entry barriers on foreign banks might lead, in
the medium term, to the arrival of new comers and consolidation of existing ones.

Unforeseen implications might include increasing overhead transitional costs associated with the
possible transformation of some local banks from privately-owned to publicly-held banks;
deterioration in the loan portfolio, and undercapitalization of banks. Hence, in order to confront
the challenges imposed by liberalization on the banking sector, some of the banks in the UAE
might be encouraged to prepare accurately for mergers, either with other local banks, or with
foreign ones so as to diversify risk and penetrate external new markets.

Benefits
Liberalizing entry and encouraging foreign banks into joining the UAE banking industry has
advantages that must be balanced against its potential costs and risks. Foreseen implications on
the benefits side include enhancing local banks’ efficiency and dynamism through opening new

8
opportunities in international markets, better business practices and standards, technology, broad
quality products and services, and risk management systems. Banking customers also gain
through reduced net interest margins, lower costs of fee-based services and the availability of a
greater variety of services.

Unforeseen positive effects may involve faster growth of the economy and its protection from
external as well domestic shocks. Moreover, increased competition resulting from liberalization
makes it more important for banks to pursue their marketing efforts more aggressively, mainly
by diversifying their products, services and markets, and improving their customer service.
While this would increase the short term banks’ costs and expenses, the medium-long term
benefits usually outweigh such costs. Finally, liberalization helps in building a local banking
supervisory and legal framework, and enhances the overall transparency.

The UAE banking sector will be engaged in a race in which each contestant is trying to offer
better and faster services. However, banks will then have an incentive to take on high risk
projects. In the long run, more consolidation in the banking industry is likely to occur. Larger
banks would prefer to takeover or merge with another bank rather than spend the money to
market and advertise to people.

Finally, cut-throat competition by USA banks of international standing makes it inevitable that
many such banks will enter the UAE market. However, while this report has compared structural
and performance-related characteristics of UAE and USA banks, and assessed some of the
implications of USA banks’ further access to the local market following liberalization, it has not
addressed the ability and potentiality of UAE banks to penetrate the USA market; a fundamental
issue which should be tackled in future studies.

9
1. Introduction

Liberalization will bring greater and more intensive competition among banks, both domestic
and foreign, as large global players will emerge on the scene. Increasing competition squeezes
profitability and forces banks to work more efficiently. A positive outcome of competition is the
greater choice available to consumers, and the increased level of sophistication and technology in
banks; in addition to an increase in disclosures and transparency in bank balance sheets.

Within the framework of the UAE-USA FTA negotiations, USA demands equal treatment of
both the national and foreign banks and companies, with taxes and fees topping the list.
Currently, foreign banks bear a 20% corporate income tax. They are restricted by Federal law to
no more than eight branches each (unless they request for more branches and are granted
approval by a special committee in the Central Bank); a matter which limits the number of
service suppliers in the form of numerical quotas, and hence from the viewpoint of the USA
violates market access. Foreign ownership in a UAE registered bank cannot exceed 49%, which
limits the participation of foreign capital in terms of maximum percentage limit on foreign
shareholding, and is hence assumed to violate market access. The elected or legally appointed
Board of Directors should contain a majority of nationals, including the Chairman; is assumed by
the USA to violate Senior Management and Board of Directors in that it accords less favorable
treatment to non-nationals than that it grants to its nationals in measures affecting the
management of banking services. Such applied measures, which might be experienced
disincentives by foreign banks’ establishment in the UAE, have granted local banks privileges
which will be threatened by the FTA. Therefore, and while most national banks and financial
companies appear to be in favor of further liberalization of the banking sector, it seems that the
UAE will be put in front of two options, either the imposition of specific ratios of fees or taxes
on all banks, or the complete removal of these fees and taxes.

By shedding light on certain banking sector structure and performance indicators for UAE and
USA, this report presents a careful explorative assessment of possible FTA implications on the
UAE banking sector. More specifically, it assesses to which extent is the UAE banking sector is
prepared for liberalization.

10
In addition to this introductory section, the report contains six other sections. Section 2 defines
the objective of the study while section 3 explains the data and methods used in carrying out the
project. Section 4 analyzes the major characteristics of the banking system in the UAE and USA,
while the sectors’ performance indicators are discussed in section 5. Section 6 lists some
potential implications of the liberalization process. Finally, section 7 closes with conclusions and
recommendations.

11
2. Objective

The objective of this report is to assess the impact of the UAE banking sector liberalization, in
the context of the UAE-USA Free Trade Agreement, on the UAE banks. The report aims at
answering the following questions:
1. What are the main characteristics of UAE and USA banking sectors?
2. What are the main performance differentials of UAE and USA banking sectors?
3. What are the implications of banking sector liberalization on the UAE banking sector?
4. What are the feasible micro-economic policies and measures required to better prepare
the UAE banking sector to cope with such liberalization?

12
3. Data and Methodology

3.1 Data

Data on the UAE banks has been collected from the UAE Central Bank, the IMF and other local
and international sources. Data for USA banks has been mainly retrieved from The Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

In most cases, the data presented covers the 6-year period extending from 1999 to 2004.
However, it is worthwhile mentioning that comparative analysis of the banking sector is
hampered by the lack of aggregated and disaggregated data on the UAE level, especially in the
areas of banks’ income and expenses.

3.2 Methodology

The methodology used is based on calculating certain ratios reflecting structure and performance
of the banking sectors of both the UAE and USA, as well as those of national and foreign banks
in the UAE itself. The report then analyzes these indicators in order to make comparisons and
draw conclusions. Comparisons within and between countries are made using charts, tables…etc.

13
4. Structure of UAE and USA Banking Sectors

Prior to assessing the implications of liberalization on the UAE banking sector, it is important to
study the structure of the banking sectors of the respective countries.

4.1 Overview

The banking sector in the UAE is the backbone of the country’s financial sector, and is one of
the most developed and least monopolized in the region. The number of commercial banks in the
UAE has been rather steady at 46 banks over the period 1999-2004 (Table 1a). The number of
branches has increased by 25% during the same period, to reach 449 branches in 2004.
Employment in UAE banks witnessed a 35% increase over the period 1999 – 2004 to reach
19,288 employees in 2004. Moreover, total assets of UAE banks stood at $122.5 billion in 2004,
increasing by 78% since 1999.

Table 1a: Banks and Employment in UAE and USA, 1999 – 2004

* Including pay offices

Source: UAE Central Bank, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

In USA on the other hand, the number of banks has been declining since 1999, and has dropped
by 11% in the last six years. Employment was estimated at over 1.8 millions, with a 9.4%
increase over the period 1999 – 2004. Total assets of USA banks amounted to $8,413 billion in
2004 with an increase of 46.7% over the same period. These figures reflect the huge size of the
USA market compared to that of the UAE. Therefore, it should be concluded that the number of
branches in the USA has been steadily increasing over the same period by over 8%. Such a trend

14
in the USA shows that as consolidation of banks into fewer and larger ones is taking place, an
increase in bank branch networks are generally associated with lower expenses, higher fee
income, and higher profitability1. This means that the USA banking sector is undergoing a
serious reform that endeavors more economies of scale and efficiency, very much in line with the
international trend. The latter is resulting in even more challenges for the UAE banking sector.
But what are these challenges about?

Column (1) in Table 1b shows that the ratio of branches per bank for both countries are almost at
the same level even for the whole period; 7.5 branches per bank in 1999 and 9 to 9.8 in 2004.
However, the differences are more related to the size of the banks in terms of assets and
employment. UAE banks are much larger in terms of assets and employment. The overall cross-
structure comparison shows that –assuming that the same service is provided by UAE and USA
banks to customers– UAE banks require much more investment in assets and employment.
Moreover, in the USA, with a population of 294 million, each bank is serving on average 38,532
clients compared to 91,304 clients in the UAE, which has a population of 4.2 million. This shows
that there are very few banks available to choose from in the UAE.

Table 1b: Structure and Conduct Ratios, UAE vs. USA, 1999 – 2004

It is of relevance here to note that the number of banks and bank branches in the UAE is
expected to increase upon liberalization of the banking sector both through entry of new foreign
players and splitting-up very large existing ones. Such an expectation could be explained by the

1 FDIC, FYI Online Bulletin, October 20, 2004.

15
fact that banks will then be subject to market forces, rather than the current UAE Banks’ Federal
Law.

4.2. UAE vs. USA Banks

By looking at the balance sheet indicators per bank, table 2 shows that UAE banks had higher
ratios than USA banks for all indicators throughout the period 1999 – 2004. For example, in
2004, total deposits per bank in UAE were more than twice as high as those in USA ($1,683
million compared to $733 million, respectively). Moreover, and over the period 1999 – 2004, the
deposit per bank in UAE has grown by almost 100%, against 64% in USA banks, which suggests
the gap is still widening. Once again, such high financial concentrations in UAE banks reflect the
huge number of customers per bank resulting from the existence of fewer banks in the UAE, and
sheds light on the lack of options for UAE bank customers. However, this will motivate the entry
of USA banks, especially large experienced ones.

Table 2: Balance Sheet Indicators of UAE & USA Banks, 1999 – 2004

Source: UAE Central Bank, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (Values in Million US$)

In this context, and with liberalization on hand, larger USA banks are usually better able to
achieve economies of scale and outperform the relatively small UAE ones, whose overhead costs
could increase in the short run while trying to keep up their market share. Therefore, in the short
term liberalization might be in the benefit of foreign “fat” banks, and be a burden on small ones.
Hence, liberalization of the UAE banking sector should be phased out in order to help local
banks adjust to new circumstances and develop measures to face future challenges.

16
4.3 National vs. Foreign UAE Banks

In 2004, there were 21 national banks with 362 branches in the UAE, and 25 foreign banks with
87 branches (Table 3a). The increase in UAE bank branches, discussed in section 4.1, has been a
result of a 32% increase in national banks’ branches (from 275 in 1999 to 362 in 2004), rather
than a 5% increase in foreign banks’ branches (from 83 in 1999 to 87 in 2004). Once again, this
minor increase in foreign banks’ branches compared to that in national ones is mainly a result of
the branching restrictions on the former (to no more than eight branches) by the UAE Federal
Law; a matter which is expected to become non-applicable upon the signature of the FTA.

Total assets of national banks amounted to $93.8 million in 2004. On the other hand, total assets
of foreign banks stood at $28.8 million. This means that total assets of national banks are about 3
times the assets of foreign banks which results in a significant market share differential.

Table 3a: Facts & Figures on UAE National & Foreign Banks, 1999 – 2004
Reporter 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

National 20 20 20 21 21 21
Number of Banks
Foreign 27 26 26 26 25 25
National 275 291 304 324 346 362
Number of Branches
Foreign 83 83 83 86 87 87
National 189,418 208,705 224,014 253,475 278,600 344,356
Total Assets
Foreign 63,332 68,396 75,655 78,075 88,308 105,664
Source: UAE Central Bank (Values in Million US$, unless otherwise noted)

Even when looking at the balance sheet indicators per bank, table 3b shows UAE national banks
had higher ratios than foreign ones for all indicators throughout the period 1999 – 2004.
Specifically, UAE national banks experienced substantially faster growth in deposits per bank
(100%) than did foreign ones (64%) during the said period. One major reason behind such a
trend is the limitation on foreign bank branches which makes dealing with them less convenient
for customers who incur high transportation costs and more time costs to reach these branches.
With the removal of such limitation, foreign banks’ branches will be more widely spread, and
might attract more customers, especially if they were able to offer better services and loan
packages.

17
 Table 3b: Balance Sheet Indicators: Average per Bank, National versus Foreign
1999 – 2004

Source: UAE Central Bank (Values in Million US$)

Finally, and as geographical branching out is important for customers (as it makes it easier for
them to access banking services), UAE national banks have set up various branches which are
widely spread among the different Emirates. Table 4 shows the geographical distribution of UAE
national and foreign banks by Emirate for the year 2003.

Table 4: Geographical Distribution of UAE Banks by Emirate, 2003

Source: UAE Central Bank

18
5. Performance Indicators of UAE and USA Banking Sectors

Performance indicators are crucial in analyzing banks. They are helpful in assessing and
evaluating the characteristics of banks’ products, services, processes and operations and
benchmarking. Section 5.1 compares these indicators as related to the UAE versus the USA
banks and section 5.2 compares those of national and foreign banks in the UAE.

5.1 UAE vs. USA Banks

Bank's capital, or equity, is the margin by which creditors are covered if the bank had to liquidate
assets. A good measure of a bank's health and financial strength is its Capital Adequacy Ratio
(CAR), usually expressed as a ratio of its capital to its assets, and which, is required to be above
a prescribed minimum2. Considering the aggregated performance indicators of banks, it is
noticed that the system-wide CAR of UAE banks surpassed that of USA banks over the period
extending from 1999 to 2004 (Table 5). Specifically, in 2004, UAE banks scored a ratio of
11.7%, compared to 10.1% for USA banks. However, while the ratio of UAE banks decreased
from 12.6% to 11.7% throughout the period, that of USA was on the uphill and witnessed an
increase from 8.4% in 1999 to 10.1% in 2004.

The overall ratio of non-performing and doubtful loans to total loans among UAE banks declined
in 2003 by 1 percentage point to 14.3%. On average, however, this ratio remained high
compared to 1.2% for USA banks in 2003, which also dropped below 1% in 2004. While this can
partly be explained by comparatively strict loan classification rules in USA, it also reflects the
overall higher credit risk in the UAE.

2
For banks, there is currently a worldwide capital adequacy standard, drawn up by the Basle Committee of the Bank
for International Settlements. This BIS ratio requires banks to have capital equal to at least 8% of their assets.

19
 Table 5: Performance Indicators of UAE & USA Banks, 1999 – 2004

n/a: not available

Source: UAE Central Bank, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and International Financial Statistics

Key profitability indicators used in this section are return on equity (ROE) and return on assets
(ROA). ROE provides a useful measure of the profitability of equity investment in banks by
dividing net profit by total equity; while ROA provides a measure of the effectiveness with
which total assets of banks are used to generate a return by dividing net profits by total assets. In
2003, the last year for which data for UAE banks exists, profitability was strong; the UAE
banking system ROA averaged 2.3%; and the ROE stood at 16.4%; both ratios exceeded those of
the USA banks (1.4% and 15.3%, respectively).

Having relatively high ROA and ROE, along with a high ratio of non-performing loans, will
make the UAE banking sector more attractive to USA banks which could achieve the same high
profits, but at the same time cope to attain lower levels of non-performing loans through better
risk management techniques. Therefore, reducing the level of non-performing loans by UAE
banks should once again be a major objective.

20
Liquidity risk is defined as the potential loss arising from a bank's inability to meet its own
contractual obligations when due, and is managed through a framework of liquidity policies,
controls and limits which ensure that the bank maintains well-diversified sources of funding, as
well as sufficient liquidity. Three liquidity standard ratios (cash and deposits with Central
Bank/assets ratio, loans/deposits ratio and loans/assets ratio) are discussed here.

Cash and deposits with Central Bank/assets of UAE banks were higher than those of USA banks
throughout the period 1999 – 2004. Loans/deposits ratios of UAE and USA banks are
comparable (86.8% and 86.4%, respectively in 2004); whereas loans/assets of USA were slightly
higher with 57.4% against 54.9% for UAE in 2004. Therefore, it seems that both banking sectors
are considered highly liquid – based on the three criteria presented above – and are thus viable
and flexible.

Claims on private sectors to total claims in both countries were highly comparable at around
80% in 2004. However, while UAE banks’ claims on the public sector were high at 17.8%, those
of the USA banks were as low as 3.7%. This low ratio for USA banks means that the public
sector plays an insignificant role.

The foreign assets to foreign liabilities ratio is used as a proxy measure of foreign currency
exposure of the banking system or of international liquidity. The ratio of foreign assets to foreign
liabilities shows that, overall, UAE banks are in a better position with regard to foreign currency
exposure than USA banks whose ratio was below unity throughout the period 1999 – 2004,
although increasing from 55% to 79% over the said period. At the same time, the ratio for UAE
banks fell from 379% in 1999 to a relatively high 298% in 2004. It should be noted here,
however, that the low ratio for USA banks is not an indication of vulnerability, the USA is a
world superpower and an economically stable investment hub, and is expected to lend foreign
countries instead of borrowing from them. Therefore, USA banks’ foreign liabilities are
reasonably higher than their foreign assets.

21
5.2 National vs. Foreign UAE Banks

UAE national banks had a higher CAR than foreign ones, with 12.2% in 2004, though down
from 13.6% in 1999; while that of foreign banks remained more or less stable over the last 6
years at around 10% (Table 6).

Differences on the national level were also significant in relation to the asset quality of banks.
For the foreign banks, the provisions of non-performing loans, measured as the average ratio of
total provisions to total loans was relatively low compared to the average level of national banks
(8.3% compared to 13.9% in 2004, respectively), although the gap had narrowed from 9% to
5.6% over the period 2001 – 2004. The lower ratio for foreign banks is probably a result of
stricter loan conditions and better risk management capabilities, reflecting higher efficiency for
these banks. The same trend is observed for the ratio of total provisions to total assets.

Table 6: Performance Indicators of National & Foreign UAE Banks, 1999 – 2004

n/a: not available

Source: UAE Central Bank, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and International Financial Statistics

22
Cash and deposits with Central Bank as a percentage of total assets, as well as loans to deposits
ratio were higher for foreign banks during the period 1999 – 2004. In particular, in 2004, foreign
banks had respective ratios of 12.5% and 88.2%, compared to 7.4% and 86.4% for national
banks. On the other hand, total loans as a percentage of total assets were higher for national
throughout the same period, with 55.4% in 2004, against 53.3% for foreign banks.

Foreign banks seem to be more active in lending the private rather than the public sector. As
much as 93.5% of their claims in 2004 were on the private sector, while only 4.5% were on the
public sector. In contrast, for the same year, 78.2% of national banks’ claims were on the private
sector, and 20.5% were on the public sector.

Overall, the national banks are enjoying a better position with regard to foreign currency
exposure of the banks, as the ratio of foreign assets to foreign liabilities was generally higher
than that of foreign banks (404% against 154% in 2004, respectively). However, while the ratio
of the foreign banks was almost constant, it witnessed some deterioration from 687% in 1999 to
404% in 2004 in the national banks.

The most significant achievement of the UAE national and foreign banks has been the marked
improvement in the financial health of banks in terms of asset quality. However, the ratio of total
provisions to total loans is still high, and needs to be addressed seriously, especially by allocating
more resources and paying more attention to risk management.

23
6. Conclusion and evaluation

FTAs induce liberalization and competition. It opens opportunities to new players and improves
efficiency of the banking sector. Competition results in better financial market transparency and
arbitration. For the consumer, it entails better and cheaper services and consequently higher
consumer surplus.

Therefore, as local banks are relatively wealthier and as competition is getting fiercer, banks in
the UAE will have to benchmark themselves against the world’s best performers and catch up
with international banking practices.

At Micro level

Local banks need to adopt new growth strategies

As local banks in the UAE could be considered fortunate due the existing exceptional
opportunities and contemporary market dynamics, in order to thrive further they need to:

a. Develop new growth strategies to achieve economy of scale. New growth strategies could
resort to more aggressive capital and investment accumulation combined with
international acquisitions to boost regional and international market share,
b. To opt for new ventures of consolidations in order to be able to keep abreast with
international developments,
c. International cooperation with prominent funds would enhance timely reaction to
international financial shocks, temper local market volatility, spreading capital risks, and
ensure stable and confident business environment,
d. Take leading initiatives in new perspective-full investment-ventures in promising but
diversified economic sectors.

24
Local banks need to improve productivity

I. Tackle and resolve existing bottlenecks, improve productivity, and enhance efficiency. This
could be done through adoption of new-technology based services, diversified portfolio,
and better maintained stock of their clientele.
II. Upgrade credit assessment and improve risk management through advanced credit
monitoring systems and efficient use of available credit worthiness information.
III. Develop modern banking systems and enhance manpower competencies and improved
marketing strategies.

At Macro level

Banks thrive with business and consumers confidence. Higher confidence is achieved through
market transparency and arbitration. However, enforcement of sound regulations and monitored
competition policies are pre-requisites as well. The role of the government in this respect is
crucial. The more the financial market is growing, the more sophisticated regulation and
monitoring it requires. International standards are the guidelines in this respect. The sooner the
local financial market will achieve the level of international markets the earlier it will get
integrated and the easier it will be for the banks to play leading role in taping from local, regional
and international financial markets.

In general, liberalization has foreseen and unforeseen implications on banks’ revenues, costs,
efficiency, risk level, and consequently their future outlook, etc.

Costs
For the UAE banks, foreseen implications can be summarized by reduced profitability in the
short term due to competition. Banks will have to compete to offer higher returns to
shareholders. Fiercer competition owing to lower entry barriers on foreign banks might lead, in
the medium term, to the arrival of new comers and consolidation of existing ones.

25
Unforeseen implications might include increasing overhead transitional costs associated with the
possible transformation of some local banks from privately-owned to publicly-held banks;
deterioration in the loan portfolio, and undercapitalization of banks. Hence, in order to confront
the challenges imposed by liberalization on the banking sector, some of the banks in the UAE
might be encouraged to prepare accurately for mergers, either with other local banks, or with
foreign ones so as to diversify risk and penetrate external new markets.

Benefits
Liberalizing entry and encouraging foreign banks into joining the UAE banking industry has
advantages that must be balanced against its potential costs and risks. Foreseen implications on
the benefits side include enhancing local banks’ efficiency and dynamism through opening new
opportunities in international markets, better business practices and standards, technology, broad
quality products and services, and risk management systems. Banking customers also gain
through reduced net interest margins, lower costs of fee-based services and the availability of a
greater variety of services.

Unforeseen positive effects may involve faster growth of the economy and its protection from
external as well domestic shocks. Moreover, increased competition resulting from liberalization
makes it more important for banks to pursue their marketing efforts more aggressively, mainly
by diversifying their products, services and markets, and improving their customer service.
While this would increase the short term banks’ costs and expenses, the medium-long term
benefits usually outweigh such costs. Finally, liberalization helps in building a local banking
supervisory and legal framework, and enhances the overall transparency.

The UAE banking sector will be engaged in a race in which each contestant is trying to offer
better and faster services. However, banks will then have an incentive to take on high risk
projects. In the long run, more consolidation in the banking industry is likely to occur. Larger
banks would prefer to takeover or merge with another bank rather than spend the money to
market and advertise to people.

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Finally, cut-throat competition by USA banks of international standing makes it inevitable that
many such banks will enter the UAE market. However, while this report has compared structural
and performance-related characteristics of UAE and USA banks, and assessed some of the
implications of USA banks’ further access to the local market following liberalization, it has not
addressed the ability and potentiality of UAE banks to penetrate the USA market; a fundamental
issue which should be tackled in future studies.

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References

¾ Bayraktar, Nihal & Wang, Yan. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper; no. WPS
3416. Foreign Bank Entry, Performance of Domestic Banks, and Sequence of Financial
Liberalization, 2004.

¾ FDIC Banking Review, Volume 16, Nos. 3 and 4, 2004.

¾ FDIC, FYI Online Bulletin, Branching Continues to Thrive as the U.S. Banking System
Consolidates, October 20, 2004.

¾ FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile, First Quarter, 2005.

¾ International Monetary Fund. United Arab Emirates Article IV Consultation, June 2004.

¾ International Monetary Fund. United States Article IV Consultation, July 2004.

¾ International Monetary Fund: International Financial Statistics, April 2005.

¾ Nabli, Mustapha. World Bank Technical Paper; no. WTP 439. Europe and Central Asia
Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Series, 1999.

¾ UAE Central Bank Annual Reports, 2000 – 2003.

¾ UAE Central Bank Statistical Bulletins, 2000 – 2004.

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