Emirates NBD’s planned OpenAI deployment puts UAE-based processing at the centre of its next phase of AI adoption. In capital markets, Dubai Investments’ proposed flotation of DIP Holding tests appetite for new equity offerings after a prolonged slowdown in UAE listings, while First Abu Dhabi Bank extended its digital issuance programme into dirham-denominated green funding.

Bank results showed that lending growth was not translating evenly into earnings. Banque Saudi Fransi expanded interest-earning assets to offset narrower margins, while Qatar Islamic Bank’s financing growth accelerated as deposit growth slowed. At Bank Muscat, lower impairment charges contributed substantially to the increase in profit.

Read more on the week’s key developments:

1. Emirates NBD partners with OpenAI for UAE-based model deployment

Emirates NBD and OpenAI announced an enterprise collaboration on 19 October that the companies said would make the UAE lender the first bank in the Middle East and North Africa to deploy OpenAI’s GPT models through in-country inference infrastructure. The bank plans to use the models in customer engagement, risk and compliance analytics, internal knowledge workflows and employee productivity, connecting them to its systems and enterprise data. Inference involves processing requests through trained models, making its location relevant to data-residency requirements.

The collaboration adds to OpenAI’s work with international banks. BBVA agreed to extend ChatGPT Enterprise to its 120,000 employees and develop applications for customer interactions, risk analysis and internal operations. Morgan Stanley rolled out its OpenAI-powered wealth-management assistant in September 2023, followed in June 2024 by a tool that generates meeting notes, identifies action items and drafts follow-up emails for advisers to review.

2. Dubai Investments plans 20% flotation of DIP Holding

Dubai Investments announced on 19 October its intention to offer 20% of subsidiary DIP Holding on the Dubai Financial Market, comprising approximately 1.74 billion existing shares. Subscriptions are expected to run from 27 October to 3 November, with trading anticipated around 11 November. The proposed offering follows a prolonged slowdown in UAE listings, making its pricing and investor demand a test of appetite for new equity issuance.

DIP Holding operates Dubai Investments Park through a ground-lease and services model, with ground-lease occupancy reaching 99.9% in June. Its first expected post-listing dividend is AED 350 million ($95 million), targeted for April 2027 for the full second half of 2026, subject to approvals and distributable reserves. This corresponds to an annualised target of AED 700 million ($191 million). The sale involves existing shares, so proceeds will go to Dubai Investments rather than fund DIP Holding’s expansion.

3. FAB issues AED 1 billion digital green bond through Euroclear infrastructure

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) announced on 15 October that it had issued and settled AED 1 billion ($272 million) in three-year digitally native green notes, which it described as the first such green bond from the Middle East and North Africa. Priced on 13 October with a 5.75% coupon, the notes mature on 15 October 2029. Proceeds will support projects with environmental or climate-related benefits.

The transaction broadens FAB’s digital funding activity beyond its inaugural $100 million, three-year floating-rate digital bond issued in July 2025 using HSBC’s Orion platform. The new issue is larger, denominated in dirhams and settled through Euroclear’s Digital Financial Market Infrastructure. Euroclear connects digitally issued securities to established secondary-market services, allowing investors to access the notes through existing market infrastructure.

4. Banque Saudi Fransi asset growth offsets narrower margins

Banque Saudi Fransi’s expanding interest-earning asset base helped offset narrower margins in the first nine months of 2026. The bank reported on 19 October that net profit rose 7% year-on-year to SAR 4.38 billion ($1.17 billion), supported by 6% growth in net interest income. Average interest-earning assets increased 8%, while the net interest margin narrowed five basis points year-on-year to 3.01%.

Margin pressure had also featured in its first-half results, when the margin stood at 3.04% and management attributed the year-on-year decline primarily to higher funding costs on debt securities and term loans. By September, customer deposits were growing faster than loans, at 9% against 7%, although deposit expansion was driven by interest-bearing balances. Nine-month impairment provisions rose 4% to SAR 784 million ($209 million), while the cost of risk remained at 0.43%.

5. Qatar Islamic Bank financing grows 22% while profit rises 2%

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) announced on 14 October that financing assets grew 21.9% year-on-year to QAR 160.7 billion ($44.1 billion), while customer deposits increased 8.3% to QAR 145 billion ($39.8 billion). Financing growth accelerated from 19.6% at June, while deposit growth slowed from 9.8%, widening the difference between financing expansion and customer funding growth. Nine-month profit attributable to shareholders rose 2% to QAR 3.53 billion ($969 million).

The faster financing growth did not produce a corresponding increase in income. Net financing and investing income after sukuk holders’ profit share fell 1.2%, while operating expenses rose 5.2%. Financing-asset impairment losses declined, but other impairment losses increased. A lower allocation of profit to participating investment-account holders, whose accounts share in investment returns, supported shareholder earnings, although higher tax absorbed part of the benefit.

6. Lower impairment charges support Bank Muscat’s profit growth

Lower impairment charges helped Bank Muscat’s nine-month profit grow faster than operating profit. Preliminary unaudited results announced on 15 October showed net profit rising 9.2% year-on-year to OMR 209.18 million ($544 million), while operating profit increased 3.4%. The OMR 10.9 million ($28.3 million) reduction in impairment losses was substantial relative to the OMR 17.6 million ($45.8 million) increase in net profit.

Net interest and Islamic financing income grew 3.4%, while non-interest income increased 6.5%, supported by higher business volumes. Operating expenses rose 5.8%. Balance-sheet expansion was more closely matched, with net loans and advances increasing 7.9% to OMR 11.55 billion ($30 billion) and customer deposits growing 8.1% to OMR 10.92 billion ($28.4 billion).

7. UAE and Singapore central banks explore payments and green finance cooperation

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) announced on 17 October that it had held discussions with the Monetary Authority of Singapore on cooperation in digital payments and green finance. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group annual meetings in Bangkok.

The discussions covered central bank digital currencies, cross-border trade and settlement, payments using QR codes, green finance and the management of climate-related financial risks. They build on a memorandum of understanding signed between the authorities in 2009.

8. Ant International secures two UAE payment licences

Ant International announced on 14 October that it had secured a Category II Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes licence and a Stored Value Facilities licence from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates. The payment licence advances plans for Antom to offer merchant-acquiring services, while the stored-value licence enables WorldFirst to provide cross-border financial services in the UAE.

The approvals broaden Ant’s ambitions beyond its existing Alipay+ wallet-acceptance arrangements, which operate through locally licensed banks and acquirers. WorldFirst’s global account services include payments, collections and currency conversion, overlapping with functions already offered by UAE business banks. Wio Business, for example, provides multicurrency accounts and international transfers. Ant’s expansion therefore brings another provider into an established business-payments market, although the announcement does not set a launch date for Antom’s UAE acquiring service.

9. Commercial Bank of Dubai expands SME financing partnership with Network International

Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) and Network International announced on 15 October an expansion of their merchant lending referral partnership beyond point-of-sale loans. Eligible UAE-based small and medium-sized enterprises and merchants can now access commercial property financing to purchase business premises and unsecured working-capital loans for short-term cash-flow requirements. Eligibility has also widened to include smaller and relatively new businesses.

The expansion adds property investment and short-term liquidity products to the partners’ existing point-of-sale lending referrals. Network’s merchant ecosystem provides the distribution channel, with CBD supplying the banking and financing capabilities. Businesses already using Network’s payment services can therefore access a broader range of bank financing through the partnership.

10. National Bank of Bahrain explores blockchain-based dinar settlement with Partior

National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) announced on 15 October that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Partior, a multi-bank blockchain settlement network, to explore enabling Bahraini dinar settlement on its platform. Under the proposed arrangement, NBB could serve as a settlement bank for the currency. The agreement covers assessment of the operating model, technical feasibility, implementation requirements and regulatory considerations.

Partior already operates a live cross-border settlement network supporting US dollars, euros and Singapore dollars. Emirates NBD went live on the platform in July 2026. The proposed addition of the Bahraini dinar would extend its currency coverage and give NBB a role in providing local-currency settlement infrastructure for participating institutions. NBB’s involvement remains exploratory.

What to watch

Emirates NBD third-quarter results and investor call (21 October), Saudi Central Bank September banking and monetary statistics (29 October), and Central Bank of Egypt Monetary Policy Committee meeting (29 October).