Al Ghurair flays greedy banks

Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Chief Executive Officer of Mashreq, yesterday, criticised the greediness of banks in their pursuit to increase profits.

Speaking to Emarat Al Youm on the sidelines of MEED's Middle East Retail Banking 2011 event Al Ghurair said, “Most of the banks pushed to increase profits through the sale of banking products and services that were more than what customers needed.”

“There has been excessive marketing of banking products to clients without studying their actual ability,” he added.

In his remarks to the Retail Banking Conference on the health of the regional banking industry he said the root cause of the banking sector's problems prior to the global financial crisis was greed.

"Bankers everywhere are a greedy lot. We didn't see a problem with people acquiring large numbers of credit cards and loans beyond their means. The weak link in our banking system is that we don't have a credit bureau," he said.

Return to strong profit growth
Al Ghurair also said the UAE's banking sector is set to return to strong profit growth in 2012 as most banks have made provisions for the non-performing assets they accumulated during the financial crisis.

"There is a strong recovery process under way," he told reporters "The last two years have been bad in terms of profit growth. I think 2012 is a year for takeoff," he said.

The sovereign debt crisis in Europe and a potential banking crisis in Europe and the US are unlikely to impact the financial system in the UAE and the Gulf region, Al Ghurair said.

The regional banks, especially UAE banks, are better prepared for the fallout from Europe, he said.

"This time we have enough liquidity, balance sheets are cleaner and exposure to the potential problematic assets is negligible," said Al Ghurair.

As for the changes in Mashreq he said the bank has changed its whole approach towards customer service, introducing an integrated approach and providing end to end service.
 

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