Short answer
Gulf finance expands: global banks relocate, CROs evolve, and PIF's LIV Golf funding nears its end.
Key facts
- Global banks pivot: Investment banks, asset managers, and senior executives are setting up regional HQs across Saudi Arabia and the UAE, driven by structural market reforms and fast-growing capital markets.
- CRO role reshapes: As liquidity tightens and digital disruption accelerates, GCC banks are elevating their CROs from compliance gatekeepers to strategic leaders, per new CBUAE and SAMA data reviewed by FTI Consulting.
- PIF backs away: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has committed to finance LIV Golf only through the current season, leaving the league seeking new investors as it projects optimism for 2027.
The big picture
Gulf finance expands: global banks relocate, CROs evolve, and PIF's LIV Golf funding nears its end.
Why it matters
Global capital is flowing into GCC markets just as Saudi Arabia's PIF signals tighter spending discipline — expat investors and banking customers face a shifting risk and opportunity landscape this week.
The details
Arab News
Global banks pivot: Global finance is accelerating its move into the Gulf. Investment banks, asset managers, and senior executives are setting up regional HQs across Saudi Arabia and the UAE, driven by structural market reforms and fast-growing capital markets.
Read at Arab News ->
Consultancy-ME
CRO role reshapes: GCC banks are remaking the Chief Risk Officer role amid tighter conditions. As liquidity tightens and digital disruption accelerates, GCC banks are elevating their CROs from compliance gatekeepers to strategic leaders, per new CBUAE and SAMA data reviewed by FTI Consulting.
Read at Consultancy-ME ->
The New York Times
PIF backs away: PIF pledges LIV Golf funding only through end of 2026 season. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has committed to finance LIV Golf only through the current season, leaving the league seeking new investors as it projects optimism for 2027.
Read at The New York Times ->
What to watch
Watch for whether LIV Golf's unnamed "secret investor" announces a formal commitment before the season finale — PIF's exit timeline makes a 2027 funding structure urgent.
The Gulf Money digest surfaces reported news from third-party publications. We do not republish the stories themselves - every headline above links to the original source so you can read the publisher's own coverage.