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Financial Services Sector Research Highlights

The Report: Syria 2026
OBG
plus

Banking Sector Analysis

Syria’s banking sector entered 2026 with a clearer legal path to global reintegration and recovery, although liquidity, capital quality and depositor confidence have yet to return to levels needed to support...

Building for tomorrow: Oman's Vision 2040 and the emerging investment opportunity

Oman‘s economic transformation is one of the Gulf’s most compelling – and least reported – investment stories. In just five years, the sultanate has cut public debt from 68% of GDP to approximately 36%...

Report: Exploring the role of banks in Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation

Saudi Arabia’s banking sector is evolving alongside broader economic diversification, investment mobilisation and financial sector development under Vision 2030. Strong macroeconomic...

Saudi Arabia’s evolving banking sector

Oxford Business Group has launched a new Impact Report exploring the evolution of Saudi Arabia’s banking sector amid the country’s economic transformation. Banking is playing an increasingly critical...

Special Reports on the Financial Services Sector
ESG Report

Report: Sustainable finance and ESG adoption advancing across Kuwait and the GCC

Kuwait is strengthening its role in the GCC’s transition towards sustainable finance and low-carbon economic growth, in line with Kuwait Vision 2035 and regional environmental, social...
Cash Transformation Report

Report: How has public-private collaboration boosted digital and cash transformation in the Bahamas?

Public-private collaboration aimed at boosting digital payments and reducing cash usage in the Bahamas has made gains in a relatively short timeframe. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, policymakers...
ESG Intelligence Report

Report: The financial sector's central role in tackling ESG issues in Mexico

Environmental, social and governance issues are a growing focus in Mexico, particularly social inclusion and transparency, followed by other governance and environmental matters. The financial sector has...
ESG Intelligence Report

Report: The future of sustainable finance in Kuwait’s banking sector

The regulatory landscape for Gulf financial service providers is changing, with growing awareness of the need for banking institutions to adopt sustainable finance frameworks and responsible lending...
Focus Report

Focus Report: Post-pandemic trends and opportunities on African stock exchanges

Although stock exchanges on the continent were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, recovery is starting to take shape. The crisis underlined the need to build resilience and diversify the investor base...

Report: Sustainable finance and ESG adoption advancing across Kuwait and the GCC
Report: How has public-private collaboration boosted digital and cash transformation in the Bahamas?
Report: The financial sector's central role in tackling ESG issues in Mexico
Report: The future of sustainable finance in Kuwait’s banking sector
Focus Report: Post-pandemic trends and opportunities on African stock exchanges
 

The Report: Qatar 2026
OBG
plus

Banking Sector Analysis

Qatar’s economic diversification goals under its long-term economic blueprint – Qatar National Vision 2030 – positions its banking sector and its dynamic Islamic finance segment as an important pillar...

Report: Saudi Arabia’s MSEs and freelancers are driving employment and economic diversification

Micro-sized and small enterprises (MSEs) and freelancers are expanding rapidly in Saudi Arabia, contributing to employment generation, economic diversification and the Kingdom’s competitiveness...

Financial Sector Analyses

Overview

Syria’s banking sector rebuilds confidence and credibility
OBG
plus

Syria’s banking sector entered 2026 with a clearer legal path to global reintegration and recovery, although liquidity, capital quality and depositor confidence have yet to return to levels needed to support the sector’s overall growth. After more than a decade of conflict, the easing of US and EU restrictions reopened scope for financial relationships, while the resumption of SWIFT connectivity and the Central Bank of Syria’s (CBS) reform strategy provide signs of institutional normalisation...

Interview

Mohammad Safwat Raslan, Central Bank of Syria
OBG
plus

On sustainable progress, financial stability and rebuilding confidence

Overview

How regulatory reforms are boosting Syria’s capital markets
OBG
plus

Syria’s capital markets are showing signs of momentum as the country works to rebuild its economy and re-engage with regional and global investors. Trading value on the Damascus Securities Exchange (DSE) surged to over SP1trn ($70m) in 2024, while market capitalisation rose from around SP3trn ($845m) in 2021 to SP25trn ($2bn) by the end of 2025 — growth that, even after accounting for currency effects, points to a meaningful rise in equity valuations...

Analysis

Why Syria’s capital markets will be key to recovery
OBG
plus

Syria has entered the second year of its transition with a tailwind few would have predicted even as recently as 2023. The sanctions that walled the economy off from the world have largely been lifted, the diplomatic isolation is ending and reintegration with the international financial system – correspondent banking, card networks, the first technical engagement with the IMF – is under way...

Overview

Syria’s insurance health schemes drive segment expansion
OBG
plus

Syria’s insurance sector is entering a new chapter as the country looks to rebuild and reconnect with international markets after years of conflict and isolation. While the industry remains modest in scale, gross written premium (GWP) nearly doubled in nominal terms in 2024, signalling renewed activity in a market that private insurers have helped diversify since liberalisation began in 2005...

Saudi Arabia’s digital payments sector drives Vision 2030 goals

In this Market Profile video, we explore how Saudi Arabia's rapidly evolving financial technology (fintech) sector, anchored by Vision 2030, is accelerating the Kingdom's digital transformation...

Report: Saudi Arabia’s fintech evolution – digital payments, inclusion and Vision 2030

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy places digital transformation at the centre of economic diversification. Financial technology (fintech) solutions, particularly digital payments, are helping to expand...

Financial Services in Emerging Markets

Economic View

Hossam Hallaq, General Manager, Syrian Gulf Bank

On the readiness to adopt digital financial services and the importance of the availability of cash during the recovery

Economic View

Issa Chami, Founder and Chairman, Alpha Capital

On enabling investment and financing reconstruction

Economic Update

Are war-related risk premiums creating a growth opportunity for emerging market insurance sectors?

The Iran war and its consequences for maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz have laid bare structural weaknesses in global insurance markets that were present long before the first strikes. Within days of the outbreak of conflict in late February 2026, war risk premium across the Gulf surged 500%, making transit economically unviable for most commercial operators. The world’s 12 major protection and indemnity clubs, which collectively underwrite the majority of ocean-going vessels, moved rapidly to cancel war cover...

Economic View

Homam Hashem, CEO, Financing Guarantee Program for SMEs (Kafalah)

On the role of banks in supporting SMEs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Economic View

Ahmad Jamal Zidan, General Manager, Arab Bank Syria

On adopting policies centred on stability and economic recovery

Economic News

Libya creates framework in pursuit of monetary stabilisation

Libya’s public finances have long been characterised by institutional division with authorities in the east and west of the country pursuing separate budgets and development agendas. This fragmentation had previously fuelled inflation and widened hard currency deficits. In November 2025 the Libyan House of Representatives and the Tripoli-based High State Council signed the agreement on the Unified Development Programme, a framework intended to consolidate spending channels and unify development priorities across...

Economic News

Abdulkader AlHussrieh, Governor, Central Bank of Syria

On reinforcing investor confidence by developing a functioning interbank market and deepening financial intermediation

Economic View

Ali Alragae, Secretary-General, Libyan Insurance Federation

On boosting penetration and the diversification of Libya’s insurance portfolio

Sultanate of Oman’s finance and leasing sector fuelling economic diversification

In this Growth Perspectives video, OBG shows how the finance and leasing sector is contributing to the Sultanate of Oman's economic diversification efforts. Amid global economic headwinds, the sultanate...

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