All articles by Duygu Tavan
Duygu Tavan
Emirates NBD offers loans for gold
Emirates NBD subsidiary, Emirates Money, is offering customers a loan which enables them to borrow up to 80% of the value of the gold they deposit.
Alpha Bank 9M10 pre-tax profits slump 56%
Alpha Bank, Greeces largest private sector bank, has reported a slump in group pre-tax profits for the nine months to 30 September, down 55.9% to 191.9m ($256.7m) as rising provisions hammered earnings. In the third quarter, provisions increased by 31% from a year ago to 223.1m. Third quarter pre-tax profits, the lowest of fiscal 2010 to date at 51.2m, fell by 60.5% from the year ago quarter, but were ahead of analyst forecasts.
SBI opens youth branch
State bank of India (SBI) has opened a branch targeted at the young adult segment of the market SBI said that it wants to improve its image among young customers, to counter any perception that its focus is on older segments of the market
Mobile banking to boost StanChart’s Malaysia unit
Shrivastava said that the main contributor to the growth in the customer base would the banks iPhone app, Breeze, which will be available in Malaysia at the beginning of 2011.
South Indian Bank teams up with Visa for debit launch
SIB aims to issue around 400,000 cards in the first year; it is also planning to roll out a Visa branded prepaid card.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
Isbank to target international expansion
Turkeys Isbank is looking to grow its operations in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Iraq and Syria, as it ramps up its international ambitions. Isbanks general manager Ersin zince told Turkish newspaper Milliyet: We are considering opening new branches in Baku the Azerbaijan capital, Cairo and Iraqi cities Baghdad, Erbil, Kerkuk and Sulaymaniyah. In addition, Isbank is looking to open branches in Syrias largest city, Aleppo.
Yapi Kredi launches talking ATMs
Turkey-based Yapi Kredi is introducing the first talking ATM and point of sale (POS) devices in Turkey in advance of World Sight Day on 3 December. The bank said that visually impaired people – both Yapi Kredi customers and non customers – will become more independent and not have rely on help when withdrawing money or checking their balance as a result of the initiative.
Sparkasse launches mobile budget planner
The German Savings Bank Association, (DSGV), the umbrella organisation of the Sparkassen Group, has launched a free budget planner for smartphone users. The S-Budgetplaner for smartphones which works on ApplesiPhone as well as the rival Android and Blackberry platforms – is an extension of a web-based budget planner which has been available since 2008. The S-Budgetplaner is available to both Sparkassen and non-Sparkassen customers and enables all users to manage their budgets on the go.
Commerzbank launches account switching promo
Commerzbank has kicked off an account switching campaign, offering a 50 ($67) incentive to new current account customers.
Barclays retail profits slip 9%
Barclays has posted group pre-tax profits of £4.28bn ($6.9bn) for the first three quarters in fiscal 2010, up 4% year to date. The bank was boosted by a 31% fall in impairments, which fell to £4.3bn in the nine months to 30 September. Pre-tax profits at Barclays’ global retail unit dropped 9% to £1.37bn compared to the same period a year ago.