Central Bank of Libya Governor Naji Issa submitted his resignation, renewing uncertainty over the institution’s leadership. The World Bank approved a $100 million grant to modernise Syria’s financial infrastructure, regulation and digital financial services. Elsewhere, Egypt’s financial inclusion rate reached 79%, while Standard Chartered identified expanding cross-border Islamic-finance corridors. Emirates NBD partnered with Dubai Future District Fund to test fintech and AI solutions, and Middle East sustainable bond issuance fell 24% in the first half. Read more on the week’s key developments. 1. Central Bank of Libya governor submits resignation Central Bank of Libya Governor Naji Issa submitted his resignation on 9 August to the heads of the House of Representatives and High Council of State. High Council of State head Mohamed Takala asked Issa to remain temporarily to maintain financial, economic and political stability while the resignation is formally considered. Issa’s resignation renews uncertainty over the central bank’s leadership after his appointment in 2024 helped resolve a dispute over control of the institution. That standoff contributed to the shutdown of oil production in eastern Libya and a sharp reduction in production and exports, demonstrating the wider economic consequences of instability at the central bank. The immediate impact will depend on whether the two legislative bodies can agree on a leadership transition without disrupting the bank’s management of oil revenues, foreign exchange and the banking system. 2. Emirates NBD partners with Dubai Future District Fund on fintech and AI Emirates NBD announced on 10 August a strategic partnership with Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF), Dubai’s AED 1 billion ($272 million) evergreen venture capital fund of funds, to identify and test fintech and artificial intelligence solutions across the bank. Emirates NBD will gain access to DFDF’s pipeline of enterprise-grade technology companies and work with portfolio companies through structured pilots and potential commercial deployments. Focus areas include AI-driven banking, embedded finance, digital assets, SME solutions, wealthtech, compliance technology and next-generation banking infrastructure. The partnership gives Emirates NBD a structured route to source and test technologies from DFDF’s portfolio, but it does not yet represent deployment across the bank. Its significance will depend on whether the pilots can pass through the bank’s technology, risk and regulatory controls, progress into commercial use and produce measurable improvements in the problems they were selected to address. 3. World Bank approves $100 million for Syria’s financial-sector modernisation The World Bank announced on 7 August the approval of a $100 million grant for Syria’s Financial Sector Modernisation Project, covering financial infrastructure, regulatory and institutional capacity and digital financial services. The programme is intended to improve the functioning of the financial system and access to finance for households and businesses as Syria works to restore financial-sector capacity. Syria’s financial system remains heavily reliant on cash, with minimal financial intermediation and outdated payment infrastructure, according to the World Bank. The programme targets at least 15 million electronic retail payments annually and 500,000 people and businesses actively using digital payments, providing measurable indicators of progress. System-wide asset-quality reviews covering public and private banks are intended to provide a clearer assessment of banking-sector risks and lay the groundwork for further reforms, alongside stronger risk-based supervision and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls. 4. Central Bank of Egypt says financial inclusion reaches 79% The Central Bank of Egypt reported on 6 August that Egypt’s financial inclusion rate reached 79%, meaning nearly four in five eligible citizens now hold and use active accounts that enable financial transactions. The measure covers accounts across banks, Egypt Post, mobile wallets and prepaid cards, reflecting the expansion of formal and digital financial services across the country. Egypt’s financial inclusion rate rose from 70.7% at end-2023 to 79% in June 2026, bringing the number of financially included citizens aged 15 and above to 56.4 million. However, the measure combines bank and Egypt Post accounts, mobile wallets and prepaid cards, which represent different levels of engagement. The next test will be whether wider access translates into more frequent transactions, higher balances and greater use of savings, credit and other financial products. 5. Standard Chartered sees Islamic finance taking larger role in cross-border capital flows Standard Chartered reported on 6 August that global Islamic finance assets had reached approximately $6 trillion across nearly 100 jurisdictions, with the industry increasingly supporting cross-border capital, trade and investment flows. It identified GCC-centred and Middle East–Türkiye corridors as emerging channels for Islamic trade and investment, while reporting that only 6% of global sukuk capital reaches South Asia and Africa. Standard Chartered’s analysis points to a larger potential role for Islamic finance in connecting liquidity across markets through trade finance, sukuk and private credit. For GCC financial institutions, this could broaden opportunities to finance infrastructure, trade-linked assets and businesses in South Asia and Africa. However, the 6% share shows that capital deployment into these regions remains limited. The significance of the emerging corridors will depend on whether they produce measurable increases in cross-border financing and investment volumes. 6. SAMA licenses Manasat Wasl to provide finance aggregation services The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) licensed Manasat Wasl Company for Communications and Information Technology on 6 August to provide finance aggregation services in Saudi Arabia. The licence allows the company to operate as a platform connecting customers with financing products from licensed providers, adding another regulated participant to the Kingdom’s digital finance market. SAMA did not disclose which lenders or products will be available through the platform or whether customers can complete applications through it. Its competitive impact will depend on lender participation, consistent presentation of financing terms and whether customers can progress from comparing products to submitting applications. A broad provider base and more complete customer journey would strengthen aggregation platforms as an origination channel for banks and finance companies. 7. Egypt launches live testing of first fintech regulatory sandbox projects Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) announced on 8 August that it had approved live testing of the first two projects under its fintech regulatory sandbox. The projects cover the use of technology in non-bank financial services and will operate in a controlled environment under FRA supervision before potentially progressing to wider market deployment. The initiative forms part of the regulator’s framework for testing new financial technologies before full-scale authorisation. Moving the first projects into live testing gives the FRA evidence from actual transactions and user interactions to assess risks that may not emerge during a conventional licensing review. It also gives participating fintechs an opportunity to test whether their models can meet regulatory requirements before seeking wider authorisation. Entry into the sandbox is not evidence of commercial viability. The more important outcome will be whether the projects satisfy the FRA’s testing requirements and progress to full market authorisation. 8. Middle East sustainable bond issuance falls 24% in first half S&P Global Ratings reported on 6 August that Middle East sustainable bond issuance fell 24% during the first half of 2026, prompting it to lower its forecast for full-year regional issuance to $15 billion–$20 billion from an earlier expectation of $20 billion–$25 billion. The ratings agency attributed the revision partly to geopolitical volatility and weaker issuance conditions. The slowdown matters directly for regional banks as issuers, arrangers and investors in green and sustainability-linked debt. Lower issuance could reduce sustainable-finance fee opportunities for investment-banking businesses in the short term. However, the decline reflects more difficult issuance conditions and does not by itself indicate that the region’s longer-term energy-transition and economic-diversification financing needs have weakened. 9. UAE Ministry of Finance adds Aani and Jaywan for federal fee payments The UAE Ministry of Finance announced on 4 August the integration of Aani, the country’s instant-payment platform, and Jaywan, its domestic card scheme, into the federal government’s payment channels. The move expands the payment methods available for settling federal government service fees, adding locally developed payment infrastructure alongside existing payment options. The integration extends Aani’s instant account-to-account payment capability into federal services, while giving Jaywan’s domestic card scheme an additional government use case. Federal adoption provides both platforms with a potentially significant source of transactions and may familiarise customers with locally operated payment infrastructure. Its significance will depend on the share of government payments that shifts to Aani and Jaywan instead of the integration simply adding more payment options alongside existing channels. 10. Botim and Mastercard launch region’s first single-credential payment card UAE-based fintech Botim and Mastercard announced on 10 August the launch of a payment card using Mastercard One Credential, marking the technology’s first rollout in the UAE and across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The card combines multi-currency, prepaid, credit and instalment payment options within a single credential, allowing eligible Botim cardholders to select how they fund transactions without using separate cards for each payment method. The model allows Botim to compete for a broader share of customers’ spending by bringing several funding methods into one payment relationship. Its commercial value will depend on whether that convenience changes payment behaviour. Card activation, repeat transaction volumes and the proportion of spending shifted from existing cards will provide the clearest evidence of traction. What to watch Arab Regional Conference on Combating Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (11–12 August), the Central Bank Payments Conference (31 August–2 September), AIM Congress 2026 in Dubai (7–9 September), The Central Bank of Egypt's Monetary Policy Committee meeting (27 August) TAB Middle East Weekly Brief is a regular round-up of developments driving transformation in the Middle East banking sector and what to watch. Subscribe via LinkedIn.
