Beleaguered brokers

The brokerage business in the United Arab Emirates is collapsing. Those brokers that survived 2011 know the cull will continue in the year ahead, and that their numbers will be even fewer come 2013. Both investors and brokers are crying out for crucial and well overdue reforms to address the parched equity markets. Regulators are now beginning to respond, implementing a new settlement process for financial instruments, required by the MSCI for the UAE to join the ranks of its Emerging Markets Index, and introducing draft laws to help raise liquidity. And while these reforms are steps in the right direction, much more will be needed to avert a total disintegration of the brokerage market. This month Executive examines the crisis battering brokers in the UAE, as well as the solutions that could save the industry. The desperate needs  Structural reforms are critical and long overdue. First and foremost, the