eFinancialCareers

The UAE banking sector has had no shortage of commentators singing its praises over Emiratisation. But are the local banks living up to the hype?

While international banks like Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered have been singled out for their Emiratisation commitments, most of the multinational firms in the freezone of the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) are exempt from the quota.

The onus is on the local banks, who have take on a large proportion of locals from a limited talent pool. This has led to escalating salaries and a war for the best bankers.

Hani Hirzallah, head of human resources (GCC) at Barclays, says: “We tend to review salaries for UAE staff on an ad hoc basis as an attempt to raise retention levels. Most banks are targetting the same group of UAE nationals as we are so we are required to revise packages more frequently.”

Back in 2006, the Human Resources Development Committee predicted that the financial sector could expect 50% Emiratisation by the end of 2007 – exceeding the 40% target. But how are they really doing?

This snapshot of GCC financial services firms below shows that Dubai firms currently have the edge over their counterparts in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Dubai Islamic Bank 45% national, 55% expat
DIFC 39% national, 61% local
United Arab Bank 36.5% national, 63.5% expat
Bank Muscat International 80% national, 20% expat
Commercial Bank of Qatar 16% national, 84% expat
Doha Bank 18% national, 82% expat
Qatar Financial Centre Authority 10% national, 90% expat
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank 25% national, 75% expat

Source: New HR Strategies for Financial Services Workshop, held in Dubai