Accounts at RAKBank going for a song

RAKBank has made a break with the traditional grey world of finance to record a pop song in an effort to attract customers.

The song, entitled Yeah! RAKBank, includes the lyrics "Yeah, RAKBank" and "I went to RAKBank, the best around, that's when my life, turned right around".

The bank said the song "sums up the 'feel-good factor' of dealing with a bank that truly puts the needs of the customer above all else."

Companies recording songs is nothing new - Ernst & Young re-recorded the gospel standard Oh Happy Day for use in a recruitment video for the firm, while two eager Bank of America employees re-recorded U2's One to celebrate the bank's 2009 acquisition of the credit card company MBNA. Both efforts were roundly panned.

Another corporate song with the lyrics "You'll never find a surer friend than Gazprom" was derided by one critic as "both sinister and sentimental at the same time", despite being oddly catchy.

But RAKBank takes to the airwaves at a time when the UAE's 51 banks are engaging in fierce competition to attract customers, with offers including daily-deals websites, 30-minute account openings and free stays at the Palm Atlantis hotel in Dubai.

The most recent available Central Bank data reveals that banks have had little to show for their efforts, with personal lending up just 1.6 per cent so far this year to Dh256.3 billion (US$69.77bn) at the end of May. Corporate lending has grown even more slowly.

Property transactions have also slowed in the years after Dubai's property bust. Mortgages fell by 1 per cent to Dh161.5bn from the end of 2010 to January this year, the Central Bank's data also showed.

As a result of high levels of regulations and growing competition from other lenders, consumer lending was proving an increasingly difficult business line to grow for banks seeking to improve revenue, said Shabbir Malik, a financial analyst at EFG Hermes.

"Retail has been a little weak and there hasn't been much improvement, especially after the retail regulations," he said.

In May last year, the Central Bank capped the amount that individuals could borrow at 20 times salary and stipulated that credit cards could be issued only to those earning more than Dh60,000 annually. Fees charged on personal loans were also limited.

Banks were also banned from advertising products through unsolicited phone calls in the past year, a move that restricted telemarketing to banks' existing customers.

ghunter@thenational.ae

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Asia Cup Qualifier

Venue: Kuala Lumpur

Result: Winners play at Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September

Fixtures:

Wed Aug 29: Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore

Thu Aug 30: UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman

Sat Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal

Sun Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore

Tue Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong

Thu Sep 6: Final

Asia Cup

Venue: Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Schedule: Sep 15-28

Teams: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus the winner of the Qualifier

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Company%20Profile

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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?

Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

How to increase your savings

Have a plan for your savings.
Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.

- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching