Abu Dhabi - Mubasher: The UAE's central bank governor Mubarak Al Mansouri has said that the diplomatic rift with Qatar has not affected the UAE's banking system.
The UAE is not considering a decision to lower reserve requirements, Al Mansouri told Bloomberg in an interview.
When asked about the merger between the First Gulf Bank (FGB) and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) forming the First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the governor said that the deal was positive for the country, indicating that combining two strong institutions makes them even stronger.
Al Mansouri added that cross-border is going to happen due to the technological changes the market is witnessing, which could foster bank consolidation.
Regarding inflation, the central bank’s governor believes the drop in rents offset the impact of the value-added tax (VAT).
The UAE is expected to achieve non-oil economic growth of between 3.5% and 3.6% in 2018.
Al Mansouri also said that there will be no change to the peg between the US dollar and the dirham.
