Industry news
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Entries close 16 February for Mena retail and digital banking awards Administrator10 February 2026
Entries are now open for the 2026 Mena Banking Excellence Retail, Digital & SME Awards. Submissions close on 16 February.
As part of Dubai Future Finance Week, the awards will showcase shortlisted banks to the region’s leading finance and fintech audiences. Participating in the awards helps banks stand out in a crowded retail and digital banking market.
The Mena Banking Excellence Awards is the only awards programme featured on the Dubai Future Finance Week agenda.
Entries close on 16 February 2026.
At a time when competitive differentiation is increasingly shaped by execution rather than scale, the awards will recognise banks demonstrating measurable progress.
The awards cover a range of institutional and country-level categories in retail, digital and SME banking, focusing on areas such as customer experience, innovation, financial inclusion and the delivery of scalable banking services.
Submissions will be assessed by a senior judging panel comprising analysts and journalists from MEED, GlobalData, Celent and TS Lombard.
The awards will provide a structured reference point for how retail and digital banking capabilities are evolving across the Middle East, particularly as banks accelerate investment in technology, data and distribution models.
Winning and shortlisted banks will be announced on 12 May 2026, with recognition taking place as part of Dubai Future Finance Week’s wider programme of finance and fintech activity.
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Beltone Leasing secures $20m funding from German investor Administrator23 June 2025
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Beltone Leasing & Factoring has signed a $20m funding agreement with Germany-based Finance in Motion to expand lending to small businesses and support green finance initiatives across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena).
The funding is evenly split between two investment vehicles: $10m from the Sanad Fund for micro, small and medium enterprises, and $10m from the Green for Growth Fund. Both facilities have a tenor of five years.
Beltone said the funding will be used to provide finance for underserved businesses and low-income households, and to support renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable resource projects.
In 2021, the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority introduced mandatory environmental, social and governance (ESG) and climate-related financial disclosures for listed companies and non-bank financial institutions. The first reporting cycle began in 2023. The agreement comes as financial institutions in the region face growing pressure to meet environmental and social targets while expanding credit to the private sector.
Beltone Leasing & Factoring is a wholly owned subsidiary of Beltone Holding. The company offers financing solutions including leasing and factoring products to corporate and SME clients.
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UAE central bank fines exchange house AED3.5m Administrator4 June 2025
The Central Bank of the UAE has imposed a financial sanction of AED3.5m ($950,000) on an exchange house for failing to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing regulations.
The fine follows a regulatory inspection that revealed weaknesses in the exchange house’s internal controls and procedures. The action was taken under Article 14 of Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018, which governs AML and combating illicit finance.
This latest measure is part of a broader enforcement drive by the central bank. In May, the central bank fined an exchange house AED100m and imposed a total of AED18.1m in penalties on two foreign bank branches.
The move reflects ongoing efforts by regulators to tighten oversight and maintain financial system integrity following the UAE’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF’s) greylist in 2024.
In a statement, the central bank reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining transparency and safeguarding the UAE’s financial system. It said it would continue to monitor and take action against institutions that fall short of compliance obligations.
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