By IANS
Abu Dhabi : The economic boom in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will continue to drive the growth of banking sector in the Arab federation, according to a study.
The study released Sunday by the National Investor (TNI), one of the leading investment houses in the region, said a favourable macroeconomic backdrop, along with increased government and private spending on infrastructure projects, has underpinned the strong growth of the UAE banking sector.
In terms of aggregate asset size, the UAE emerges as the largest in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region with $273 billion as compared to $250 billion recorded by Saudi Arabia at the end of second quarter of this year, WAM news agency reported.
First Gulf Bank (FGB) has been the fastest growing commercial bank in the UAE, the study showed.
“Due to such significant growth, the bank is now competing with the leading UAE banking players, a definite upgrade from its historical status of medium-sized bank,” said Burhani Ali, who prepared the report.