Tokenised payments and regional integration led the week. FAB completed live US dollar transactions with Citi using tokenised deposits and Swift Ledger. Qatar joined AFAQ, completing participation by all six GCC central banks, and opened its real-time settlement system directly to licensed payment providers.

Debt issuance was also strong. Saudi Arabia raised $3.25 billion through a sovereign sukuk that drew about $16.5 billion in orders, while ANB, Al Rajhi and IsDB raised a combined $2.85 billion. The US separately sanctioned Türkiye-based Golden Global Bank over alleged Iran-linked transactions.

Read more on the week’s key developments:

1. FAB completes live tokenised deposit transactions with Citi through Swift Ledger

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) announced on 2 September that it had completed live US dollar transactions at scale with Citi through Swift Ledger. The transactions used tokenised deposits and Swift smart-contract settlements to enable 24/7 cross-border payments. FAB became the first bank in the Middle East and Africa to reach this stage of Swift’s Ledger initiative. Tokenised deposits remained liabilities on the participating banks’ balance sheets, while interbank settlement continued through established correspondent-banking channels.

Swift says 75% of payments on its existing network already reach beneficiary banks within ten minutes, placing the ledger’s stronger distinction in round-the-clock availability, programmable transactions and coordination across separate tokenised-deposit platforms. FAB is one of 17 banks from six continents preparing live transactions, placing its work with Citi within a wider effort to make tokenised commercial-bank money interoperable across institutions.

2. Qatar joins AFAQ as all six GCC central banks connect to regional payment system

Qatar joined the AFAQ Gulf Payments System on 7 September, completing participation by all six GCC central banks. Operated by the Gulf Payments Company, AFAQ connects national real-time gross settlement systems and facilitates cross-border transfers between participating financial institutions. Doha Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank and Dukhan Bank joined from Qatar, bringing the network to 74 participating banks across the GCC.

Since its launch in December 2020, AFAQ has processed more than 276,000 transactions, with commercial-bank onboarding beginning in April 2021. Qatar closes the last geographic gap in the network. The next phase is to increase the share of intra-GCC payments routed through AFAQ by expanding bank participation, integrating the service into customer channels and making its pricing competitive with established correspondent-banking routes.

3. US sanctions Türkiye-based Golden Global Bank over alleged Iran-linked transactions

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Golden Global Bank and two subsidiaries on 4 September under sanctions targeting Iran’s financial sector. Treasury alleged that the Türkiye-based bank facilitated tens of millions of dollars in transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and provided correspondent-banking access that allowed Iranian funds to move internationally. It also alleged that the bank helped transfer Iranian oil revenues from China to Türkiye for conversion into cash and gold. Golden Global Bank rejected the allegations and said it would pursue legal action.

The designation immediately blocks Golden Global’s property and interests in property under US jurisdiction and creates secondary-sanctions exposure for foreign banks conducting certain transactions with it. Operation Economic Outcast, launched on 24 August, specifically warns financial institutions facilitating Iran-linked sanctions evasion that they risk losing access to the US financial system. The effect extends into correspondent banking, transaction screening and trade-finance relationships beyond Golden Global itself.

4. Saudi Arabia raises $3.25 billion through two-tranche international sukuk

Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Center announced on 1 September that the Kingdom had raised $3.25 billion through its second international Ijarah sukuk issuance. The transaction comprised a $1.25 billion five-year tranche maturing in 2031 and a $2 billion ten-year tranche maturing in 2036. Investor orders reached approximately $16.5 billion, equivalent to five times the final issuance.

Saudi Arabia entered 2026 with projected funding needs of SAR 217 billion ($57.9 billion), comprising a SAR 165 billion ($44 billion) budget deficit and SAR 52 billion ($13.9 billion) in debt repayments. By May, the National Debt Management Center said it had secured approximately 90% of those needs and had selectively reduced issuance in international public markets. The September sukuk marks a return to those markets after that pullback, using strong demand to maintain international investor access and extend the sovereign yield curve.

5. Standard Chartered launches institutional Bitcoin and Ether trading in UAE

Standard Chartered announced on 3 September that it had launched institutional Bitcoin and Ether spot trading through its Dubai International Financial Centre entity. The Dubai Financial Services Authority-regulated service enables eligible institutional clients to execute deliverable BTC/USD and ETH/USD transactions through the bank’s electronic trading channels and existing foreign-exchange interfaces. Standard Chartered said it was the first global systemically important bank to offer institutional digital-asset spot trading in the UAE.

Standard Chartered first introduced institutional Bitcoin and Ether spot trading through its UK branch in July 2025 and launched digital-asset custody in the UAE in September 2024. The new service extends an existing trading model into the DIFC and combines local execution with custody already available in the country. It also follows revised Dubai Financial Services Authority rules effective from January 2026, which place responsibility on authorised firms to assess the suitability of the crypto tokens they use.

6. ANB and Al Rajhi raise $1.35 billion through capital sukuk

Arab National Bank (ANB) announced on 3 September that it had completed a $750 million US dollar-denominated Additional Tier 1 sukuk. The perpetual securities carry an annual return of 6.5% and are callable after five years. Al Rajhi Bank followed with a $600 million Tier 2 social sukuk on 6 September. Its 10.5-year securities are callable after 5.25 years and carry an annual return of 6.232%. Both transactions will be listed on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market.

ANB reported a total capital adequacy ratio of 20.81% at June 2026, including a Tier 1 ratio of 20.38%. Al Rajhi’s total capital adequacy ratio stood at 21.9% at the end of 2025. The sukuk add capacity to banks that entered the transactions with substantial capital buffers, supporting continued financing growth while diversifying their capital structures across Additional Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruments.

7. IsDB raises $1.5 billion through second benchmark sukuk of 2026

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) raised $1.5 billion through a five-year sukuk on 2 September, its second US dollar benchmark issuance of the year. Orders exceeded $2.75 billion, allowing IsDB to price the transaction at the secured overnight financing rate mid-swap plus 48 basis points, two basis points tighter than its initial indication. The sukuk carries a profit rate of 4.781% and was issued under IsDB’s $25 billion Trust Certificate Issuance Programme.

Central banks and official institutions received 51% of the allocation, while investors outside the Middle East and Africa accounted for 61%. The order book surpassed the $2.65 billion achieved for IsDB’s May benchmark, providing a geographically diverse funding base for project financing across its 57 member countries.

8. Saudi Investment Bank exits American Express Saudi Arabia in $381 million sale

The Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB) announced on 2 September that it had agreed to sell its entire 50% holding in American Express Saudi Arabia to Amex Middle East for SAR 1.43 billion ($381 million). SAIB will also receive deferred consideration based on its share of distributable profits generated before completion. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals.

American Express Saudi Arabia generated SAR 644.3 million ($171.8 million) in revenue and SAR 152 million ($40.5 million) in net profit during 2025. SAIB’s expected SAR 792.4 million ($211.3 million) disposal gain is equivalent to almost one-third of its SAR 2.43 billion ($648 million) net profit for that year, while the initial sale proceeds represent approximately 8% of its year-end shareholders’ equity. The transaction monetises a profitable associate and provides a meaningful one-off addition to SAIB’s capital resources.

9. Qatar opens real-time settlement infrastructure directly to payment providers

Qatar Central Bank announced on 1 September that licensed payment service providers could open settlement accounts directly with the central bank and access the QA-RTGS real-time gross settlement system. Eligible providers can therefore settle transactions without relying on commercial banks as intermediaries. SADAD Payment Solutions and Dibsy became the first two payment service providers to join the system.

Their participation moves the initiative directly into implementation. Qatar Central Bank said direct settlement should reduce operating costs for providers and merchants while shortening the payment chain. The change also reduces commercial banks’ intermediary role in these transactions and gives licensed non-bank providers greater control over settlement.

10. GCC regulators advance cross-border fund-registration framework

The GCC Committee of Heads of Capital Market Authorities met on 7 September to review member states’ preparations for implementing the Cross-Border Registration Regulation for Investment Funds. The committee also considered making common investment-account opening requirements and a know-your-customer form mandatory across GCC markets. Other work covered artificial intelligence in securities markets, capital-market skills and the exchange of expertise among regulators.

The GCC fund-passporting framework was approved in November 2024 and was originally scheduled to take effect in early 2025 in states that had completed their legislative procedures. The September 2026 update shows that some member states are still completing those procedures. The regulatory framework is established, but uneven national implementation continues to delay a fully functioning regional passport for investment funds.

What to watch

The conclusion of AIM Congress in Dubai on 9 September, the US Federal Reserve Federal Open Market Committee meeting on 15–16 September and the Central Bank of Egypt Monetary Policy Committee meeting on 24 September.