Banking, fintech, funds, capital markets and cross-border investment
The Central Bank of the UAE has imposed a Dhs200 million penalty on an unnamed foreign bank branch over repeated failures in anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance. The regulator also levied personal fines against the bank's CEO and compliance head, and ordered a mandatory remediation programme.
Abu Dhabi's Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) is monitoring cryptocurrency exchange Binance following an unauthorized withdrawal incident involving approximately $6.3 billion in digital assets. The regulator said it is engaging closely with Binance to protect clients and ensure market integrity. Binance confirmed that roughly $3 billion has been frozen and committed to covering all losses.
The UAE accounted for 80.9 percent of disclosed GCC M&A deal value in the first half of 2026, reaching $52.6 billion across 131 transactions, according to Apolonia Capital. While total regional deal count fell 18 percent, overall value rose 12 percent to $65.1 billion. In parallel, UAE audit firms Evas Constantin and Mac & Ross announced a merger into CPAC IMEA amid expanding corporate tax and compliance requirements.
Mashreq Bank PSC reported an 18% year-on-year increase in profit before tax to AED 7.3 billion for the nine months ended 30 September 2026. Operating income rose 11% to AED 10.4 billion, while total assets expanded to AED 405.6 billion. Customer lending grew 33% year-on-year, and the non-performing loan ratio improved to 0.7%.
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