Embracing evolution

In an economy such as the United Arab Emirates, where the government has significant stakes in several of the largest banks, it is hard to isolate successes and attribute them fairly. Still, the success of UAE banks at surviving what have been trying times earns them at least part of the financial accolades of the emirates in 2010; the orderly restructuring of nearly $25 billion of debt was a major achievement on the part of the UAE banking sector and September’s announcement that all 90 of Dubai World’s (DW) creditors had agreed to a restructuring agreement sent positive waves across financial markets.  “Common sense prevailed, and it was therefore an achievement to get all the banks to agree to the restructuring terms, which reflects the pragmatic structure of the agreement,” says Jeremy Parrish, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered UAE. Emirati banks also withstood exposure to a still-ailing real estate