Bank confirms returns for Emirati customers

First Gulf Bank has confirmed that all Emirati Al Awwal Islamic Certificate owners will receive a return of 1.5 per cent on the total value of the certificates they hold.

Three account holders of a First Gulf Bank savings scheme recently won Dh1.4 million in prize draws. Jeff Topping / The National

First Gulf Bank (FGB) has confirmed that all Emirati Al Awwal Islamic Certificate owners will receive a return of 1.5 per cent on the total value of the certificates they hold, which will be directly transferred to their accounts on a monthly basis. This is the first time that FGB has distributed a return to the programme's participants.

In addition, the bank has announced the winners of its quarterly draw for the programme. An Emirati customer has won a cash prize of Dh1 million (US$272,257) and two runners-up were rewarded with prizes of Dh200,000.

The programme, a Sharia-compliant deposit scheme, has been designed to encourage UAE nationals to develop a regular savings habit.

The programme rewards participants with cash prizes, including 30 weekly prizes worth Dh5,000 each, two monthly prizes, one for Dh100,000 and the other for Dh50,000, and three quarterly prizes, including one for Dh1m, and two for Dh200,000.

Each Dh1,000 certificate entitles a customer to one entry into each weekly, monthly and quarterly draw respectively. The greater number of certificates held, the more chances of winning.

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HSBC Bank Middle East has upgraded its investment platform, to allow its wealth management customers to view their entire investment portfolios through internet banking.

The new investment platform model is provided by Pershing, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of New York Mellon, and is a no-fee programme that allows customers to access all their investments with HSBC through a single online window - the Wealth Dashboard. By providing access to entire portfolios in one place, this service will reduce time delays in checking multiple accounts and present a mechanism to easily access a broad range of investment choices  available by the bank.

The platforms will allow HSBC's wealth managers to view customers' holdings in a consolidated window, access numerous trading possibilities and provide a broad range of investment options.

Moreover, it will also allow regular valuations of customers' holdings. HSBC customers can access the Wealth Dashboard by logging in to their internet banking account on the HSBC website.

The platform is part of the bank's growing wealth-management offering, which includes its "financial planning tool", allowing wealth managers to measure a client's liquidity and risk appetite, before providing needs-based investment options for their portfolios.

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Doha Bank has won the award for "best credit card" at The Banker Middle East Product Awards 2013. The award was in recognition of the Doha Bank Lulu shopping credit card that provides cardholders with year-round savings on everyday purchases, in addition to free shopping benefits, by instantly redeeming accumulated shopping points via Lulu supermarkets. The card is issued in partnership with MasterCard.

Doha Bank has been working to provide new applicants with easier access to the cards, with sales kiosks placed within Lulu stores, to facilitate applications. The process is further simplified by integration of the approvals process across banking channels. Customers can apply online as well as by using the bank's phone banking service or by simply sending an SMS.