Apr. 13--HSBC EASES LOAN REQUIREMENTS: HSBC Bank Middle East announced today that it has reduced its minimum monthly salary requirement for personal and auto loans to Dhs10,000 ($2,724). According to the bank's statement, personal finance is available from Dhs50,000 to a maximum of Dhs250,000, and can be availed over a maximum tenure of 60 months.

KUWAIT CUTS DISCOUNT RATE TO 3.5 PERCENT: Kuwait's central bank yesterday cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.5 percent. The reduction is effective today, the state-run KUNA news service cited central bank Governor Sheikh Salem AbdulAziz al-Sabah as saying.

KUWAIT BANKS' Q1 PROFITS TO DIP: Naser Al Nafisi, general manager at the Al-Joman Center for Economic Consultancy, said Kuwaiti banks' first quarter profits are expected to decline on average 30-35 percent from the year ago period, but that might still boost shares. 'The situation has improved compared to the fourth quarter, provided there are no more provisions we don't know about,' he told Reuters. 'Despite a profit fall the shares, which have fallen 50 percent in some cases, might benefit.'

EMIRATES NBD BOND SWAP TO RAISE CAPITAL RATIOS: Emirates NBD is to exchange $1bn (Dhs3.7bn) medium-term bonds for shorter term bonds in an effort to boost its regulatory capital ratios. The bank will exchange bonds issued in 2006 that mature in 2016, and which are trading below face value, for shorter term bonds that mature in 2012 in a move to strengthen its balance sheet. (Mac Capital)

GULF BANK TO POST Q1 PROFIT: Kutayba al-Ghanim, chairman of Gulf Bank has said that he expects the bank to post a profit in the first quarter after a $1.29bn bailout by shareholders, Reuters has reported. Al-Ghanim told shareholders that the bank's current capital adequacy ratio is 13.82 percent and that he expects the bank's stocks trading to resume 'within days'.

AL RAJHI PROFIT AHEAD OF FORECAST: Despite a Reuters report which showed analysts' forecast of the Saudi-based Al Rajhi Bank's Q1 earnings ranging from SR1.45bn to SR1.69bn, the bank said, in a statement on the bourse website, that it had made SR1.73bn in net profit in the three months to March 31, up from SR1.6bn in Q1 2008. Al Rajhi was the first Saudi lender to announce its first-quarter earnings.

KUWAIT BANKS DO NOT FACE FINANCING TROUBLE: The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) Governor Sheikh Salem AlـSabah said that the banking system is not locked in any risks bearing on a looming suspension or reduction of finance lines between Kuwait and foreign banks. Al-Sabah told the Kuwait News Agency that the foreign financial investments of the Kuwaiti banking system are relatively low in consequence of regulations set out by the CBK as to banks' investment policies. These envision that investment in securities should not exceed 10 percent of the issuer's capital, and the total percentage of a portfolio should not exceed 50 percent of the bank's capital.

UAE MORTGAGE MARKET STABILISING: The mortgage market in the UAE is beginning to stabilise, with loan-to-value ratios now between 70 percent and 85 percent. According to an Emirates Business 24/7 report, these ratios deter speculators who want to get into the market with just a small deposit. "The downward correction in LTVs in the UAE market will ensure that it is serious buyers and end-users who are the actual purchasers of property," Niranjan Mendonca, Head of Retail Assets at Mashreq told the paper.

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