Arab banks assets to hit $3tr

The total assets of Arab banks are expected to hit $3 trillion in 2013, up by more than 13% from $2.6 in 2012, according to the Secretary General of the Union of Arab Banks (UAB), Wisam Fattouh. The deposit base of Arab banks stood at $1.5 trillion, with loan portfolio growing to $1.4 trillion, Fattouh told BNA news agency on the sidelines of the two-day Arab Banking Conference 2013 in Manama. The Arab banking sector is still safe from the Euro crisis, and from the Cypriot banking crisis in particular, as Arab banking institutions are not affected by the “Arab Spring” meaning they are not involved in politics, the UAB official remarked. “Financial crises are imported into the Arab region which does not export them. Thanks to their good risk-management, the Arab banks are in very good positions despite the regional and global fluctuations,” Fattouh added. Leading Arab bankers took part in the key conference in Manama which began yesterday under the theme “Requirements for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development.”