Une info Oxford Business Group
Jordan: Improving Financial Health

9 May 2007
The banking sector in Jordan continues to return impressive results as the two largest banks by assets saw substantial profit increases in the first quarter of 2007.
Both the Arab Bank and the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance (HBTF) posted profit increases of over 20%. Arab Bank announced first quarter profits of $187m after taxes and provisions, which was a year-on-year increase of 24.6%. HBTF recorded an even healthier increase of 36% with profits standing at $51.7m for the first three months of the year. Such impressive results are mirrored to a lesser extent by other banks with Jordan Kuwait Bank registering profits of $15.7m, a 5% increase on the first quarter of 2006.
The main increase in profits derived from operating revenues while Arab Bank and HBTF also experienced a significant increase in their assets. Arab Bank's rose to $33.3bn from $29.3bn for the same period last year. HBTF's increased to $4.5bn from $4.2bn at the end of 2006.
The banking sector is thus in good health although the top five banks dominate the sector and competition is becoming increasingly aggressive. This is reflected in the retail-banking sector with banks taking on more risk to retain and win new customers. With more foreign banks such as Lebanon's Blom Bank and Bank Audi having entered the market in the last three years, the competition will continue to intensify.
According to, Adnan al-Araj general manager of Blom Bank in Jordan, there is huge potential for personal loans, credit cards and housing loans in the Jordanian market. This is increasingly competitive with some banks offering terms of up to 20 years, loan values up to 85% and ever more attractive interest rates. However, personal debt and credit card usage in Jordan is still relatively low. Al-Araj told OBG he believes this will change as consumers begin to accept financing their needs through debt. He also sees this as a great opportunity for banks to increase their customer base.
Some analysts have expressed concern at the lack of a central credit bureau. The Central Bank tried to implement this in 2006 but the proposal was rejected by parliament. However, most bankers have said they believe that although it would be welcome, it would not prevent further retail growth. Al-Araj said, The personal loan is the most secure retail product in Jordan.
A different take on the personal loan, particularly for small- and medium-sized enterprises, is micro-credit. Jordan's Queen Rania Al-Abdullah is the co-chair of a new micro-credit system that offers bank services to the world's poorest. The programme will be run by the global microfinance organisation, FINCA International (Foundation for International Community Assistance). Queen Rania said the project was essential for the Middle East, Unfortunately in the region, the demand is outstripping the supply, the financial capital to meet this demand, so it's one of the most under-serviced regions.
The new programme will cater to 1m of the world's poorest people with a special initiative targeting Jordan. Queen Rania, who is also a board member of the organisation, said the scheme would be all-inclusive, serving all members of society, regardless of their origins. The queen said this would include displaced Iraqis. A lot of the Iraqis that we have in Jordan are not necessarily considered refugees, a lot of them are quite well off, but obviously some are not and some will need services and they won't be excluded, she said.
The queen also suggested that it would have social benefits as a way of empowering women to spend more on healthcare and education for their children. Queen Rania argued, I believe it is one of the tools to empower women. In order to improve women's status in the Arab world, it's a multi-faceted approach, you have to target the issue from many different angles, but one of the ways is through microfinance.

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Bank Marketing and Management Forum
04/2007

The Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences and The American Bankers Association – Bank Marketing School, are delighted to introduce the 2nd Bank Marketing and Management Forum which will be presented by specialised experts from the Bank marketing School in USA (www.aabfs.org/EB/BMMF2/EnSpeakers.htm), as well as presenting international and Arab experiences and successful case studies from several banks which have adopted modern marketing strategies.

The Forum will take place in Amman-Jordan (www.aabfs.org/EB/BMMF2/ EnVenue.htm), during the period May 27-29, 2007. It will deliver valuable, in-depth content to help you and your organisation succeed and provides big-picture strategies as well as practical solutions to address marketing management challenges critical to successfully building your brand and differentiating your bank.

Since Marketing Plan is one of the most critical documents in your bank as it provides the roadmap to achieving the goals and objectives outlined in the strategic plan. The forum will reveal how successful companies build sound marketing plans to execute tactics and achieve established goals.

By participating in this forum, you will have the opportunity to join other directors and vice presidents of marketing, executives in retail banking, bank marketing and sales leaders and suppliers of marketing and retail solutions from many different countries, which gives you the opportunity to leverage your business contacts and benefit from the different case studies and real examples which will be presented during the three days (www.aabfs.org/EB/BMMF2/EnRegister.asp).

We have the pleasure to announce an exhibition accompanying the forum (www.aabfs.org/EB/BMMF2/EnSponsor1.htm). This exhibition will give you the opportunity to increase your brand presence regionally, to network with financial industry leaders, establish new business contacts and have an extensive marketing exposure promoting your products and services.

To know more about participation fees and the exhibition, please contact :
Amal Mishlawi
Director, Events Department
Tel. +962 6 5502900 ext: 127/128/129/183
Fax +962 6 5232031
E-mail : forums@aabfs.org

For more information, please visit the forum's website :
www.aabfs.org/bmmf2.asp

For more information about AABFS membership and registration methods kindly visit our website :
www.aabfs.org/English/EnMemberShip.asp.

For more details about 2007 AABFS Conference & Forums, visit :
www.aabfs.org/EB/EventPlan/english/EnIndex.htm

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Bank country offices Jordan have issued report on Bank activities and developments within the countries during the first quarter of calendar year 2005

09/2005
Lire le rapport en PDF
Source : web.worldbank.org

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Processus d’Agadir (Jordanie, Égypte, Maroc et Tunisie) : signature d’une convention de financement

12/2004
L’UE et la Jordanie ont signé le 19 décembre à Amman une convention de financement de 4 millions d'euros afin de soutenir le processus d’Agadir qui vise à créer une zone de libre-échange entre la Jordanie, l'Égypte, le Maroc et la Tunisie. Ces fonds aideront à mettre en place à Amman une unité technique qui supervisera la mise en œuvre de l’accord d’Agadir, signé officiellement par les quatre pays en février dernier. La cérémonie de signature du 19 décembre a réuni le ministre jordanien du Plan, Bassem Awadallah, le Chef de la Délégation de la Commission européenne en Jordanie, Robert van der Meulen, et les ambassadeurs d'Égypte, du Maroc et de Tunisie en Jordanie.
Source: SYNOPSIS EUROMED Lettre d’information hebdomadaire sur le Partenariat Euro-Méditerranéen et le Programme MEDA

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Document de travail des services de la commission
Politique européenne de voisinage

06/2004
Bruxelles, le 12 mai 2004.
Lire le rapport sur La Jordanie en PDF (240 ko)

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Finance & banques en Jordanie (2003)

Le secteur bancaire jordanien est très dynamique et libéral. 21 banques le composent, cinq d’entre elles filiales de banques étrangères, dont trois occidentales (HSBC, Standard Chartered et Citygroup). Par ailleurs, cinq banques sont des banques d’investissement, bien que leurs activités diffèrent peu des autres banques commerciales, et deux sont des banques islamiques. En plus de ces 21 banques, il existe quatre organismes spécialisés dans le crédit pour les secteurs agricole (Agricultural Credit Corporation), industriel (Industrial Development Bank), de l’habitat (Beitna) et du développement rural (Cities and Villages Development Bank). Trois banques nouvellement établies commenceront bientôt leurs opérations, la National Bank of Kuwait, l’Audi Bank et la BLOM du Liban.
Les deux plus grandes banques en termes d’actifs sont l’Arab Bank (26 milliards de dollars US d’actifs) dont la présence internationale est très importante et la Housing Bank for Trade and Finance (2,3 milliards d’US$). Une nouvelle loi sur les opérations bancaires, qui vise à améliorer l'efficacité du secteur, est entrée en vigueur en 2000. Cette nouvelle loi protège les intérêts des déposants, diminue les risques du marché monétaire, s’oppose à une concentration excessive des activités de prêt et inclut des mesures sur de nouvelles pratiques en matière d'opérations bancaires (e-commerce, opérations bancaires par internet) et sur le blanchissement d'argent.
Après les difficultés enregistrées par la Jordanie à partir du milieu des années quatre-vingt-dix, une nouvelle loi bancaire, votée en 2000, a assaini le secteur avec un renforcement de la lutte contre le blanchiment, une protection plus grande des déposants, ainsi que des règles nouvelles pour encadrer le commerce et la banque en ligne. Les réserves en devises étrangères ont atteint 5,2 milliards d'US$ en 2002, comparés à 1,7 milliard d'US$ en 1997. Les réserves ont été notamment accrues par l’apport des privatisations et les transferts des ouvriers jordaniens émigrés.
Quant au crédit, près du quart du financement des banques sont allés au financement des activités de commerce en 2002, 22 % aux investissements en portefeuille et 17 % au secteur de la construction. Le secteur industriel a lui bénéficié de 15 % des crédits.
La Banque centrale de Jordanie, l’autorité de supervision du système financier, autorise le crédit en devises à la condition que les remboursements des prêts se fassent aussi en devises. Le dinar jordanien s’échangeait à environ 1,27 dinar pour un Euro (septembre 2003). Il est totalement convertible pour toutes les opérations commerciales et les transferts de capitaux.
La présence d’une véritable Bourse des valeurs renforce le rayonnement du pôle bancaire et financier jordanien. Le marché des capitaux est limité en Jordanie, avec une capitalisation approximative de 9,8 milliards d'US$, soit environ 70 % du PIB. Il existe 30 entreprises de courtage et 159 compagnies listées à la Bourse d’Amman. 37 % de la capitalisation est détenu par des non-jordaniens.
Un rapport récent de Moody's a amélioré le rating des dépôts en devise étrangère de la Jordan’s Housing Bank for Trade and Finance de la Cairo-Amman Bank. Ceci fait suite à l’augmentation du plafond des dépôts en devise étrangère de la Jordanie. Le rapport a également amélioré la notation de la Jordanie (note Ba2), avec une perspective stable, en dépit du scepticisme antérieur lié à la guerre d’Irak.
Jean-François Eyraud

Information transmise gracieusement par le Réseau ANIMA. www.animaweb.org

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