QNB Financial Services (QNBFS), a subsidiary of QNB Group launched retail trading in fixed-income securities on the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE), where QNBFS executed its first transaction in fixed-income securities for individuals. This pioneer step makes QNBFS the first broker in Qatar to enable direct bond trading for both individual and small institutional investors on the QSE with a significantly reduced minimum investment threshold.As a subsidiary of QNB, QNBFS will leverage QNB’s primary distributor role, mandated by QCB, to support clients in the buying and selling of QAR government securities, clients will have the ability to not only purchase QAR government securities but also to sell them at transparent, competitive prices at all times, securing an exit mechanism for retail investors. This provides confidence and flexibility for individual investors participating in the QAR sovereign debt capital market.This step supports Qatar Central Bank’s efforts and vision to enhance the liquidity and depth of the QAR government securities. By enabling wider access to QAR Government Securities, the program strengthens the depth of the secondary market and provides the retail client base the opportunity to benefit from the high credit ratings of the QAR government securities along with its attractive yields.Historically, bond trading in Qatar has been accessible only to large institutions, often requiring minimum investments of up to QR 50mn. With this groundbreaking pioneer step, QNBFS along with QSE has opened up access to the fixed-income market by reducing the entry point to just QR100,000, allowing a broader range of investors to participate directly in listed sovereign and corporate bonds on the QSE. This represents a major step in enhancing market diversification, investor inclusion, and overall capital-market depth in Qatar.The move arrives at a time of sustained growth in regional debt capital markets. According to the London Stock Exchange Group, bond issuance across the Middle East and North Africa grew 20% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2025, reaching $125.9bn.Qatar’s activity reflected this momentum, with $10.97bn in bond issuances during the same period. This rising demand for stable, income-generating investment options underscores the timeliness of QNBFS’s offering and its value to investors seeking diversified portfolios.This major step marks a transformative moment for QNBFS and the Qatari capital market. By lowering the entry barrier, the new service enables thousands of individual and smaller institutional investors to access a vital asset class that was previously out of reach. This development significantly broadens the range of financial products available on the Qatar Stock Exchange, supporting the State of Qatar’s strategy to enhance liquidity, deepen market sophistication, and diversify investment opportunities.Accessibility and ease-of-entry are at the heart of the new offering. Any investor – including foreign individuals and small institutions – with a National Investment Number (NIN) in QSE, can participate in listed bond trading through QNBFS. This open-access model positions Qatar as an increasingly attractive and competitive investment hub, providing global investors with a seamless way to capture stable, low-risk returns through Qatar’s sovereign and corporate fixed-income instruments.By facilitating transparent price discovery, improving liquidity, and expanding market participation, QNBFS continues to reinforce its leadership in the evolution of Qatar’s capital-market ecosystem. This initiative further cements its role as a financial pioneer supporting the country’s long-term economic and investment objectives.

The European Central Bank held interest rates steady on Thursday for its fourth meeting in a row but was tight-lipped on the future rate path as it stressed lingering geopolitical uncertainty. ECB President Christine Lagarde said tumult around the borders of Europe as well as the impacts of trade tensions meant it was impossible to issue guidance for the future. “One thing that has not changed much at all and which, if anything, may have actually worsened is uncertainty,” she told a press conference presenting the rate decision and improved growth forecasts. “With the degree of uncertainty that we are facing, we simply cannot offer forward guidance.” The ECB nudged up its growth forecasts for the 20 countries that share the euro for 2026 and 2027 to 1.2% and 1.4%, up from 1.0% and 1.3% at its September projection. Touching on the bumped-up growth forecasts, Lagarde said staff expected increased growth across the bloc thanks partly to higher investment as a result of spending on AI. “We think that there is some change taking place in our economies,” Lagarde said, pointing to business surveys. “Both large corporates, but also SMEs (small and medium enterprises) as well, their investment based on the data that we collect, based on the surveys that we conduct, is largely attributable to the development of AI.” Investors were paying close attention to the new growth and inflation forecasts, seen by some as a possible barometer of the ECB’s thinking when it came to possible future rate moves. Governing Council member Isabel Schnabel — widely considered a hawk who is particularly wary of inflation — caused a stir earlier this month after telling Bloomberg that she was “rather comfortable” to see traders pencil in hikes, fuelling expectations of possible hikes. Addressing a question on Schnabel’s comment, Lagarde said that, amid heightened global uncertainty, “there was unanimous agreement around the table about the fact that all optionalities should be on the table”. Following a year-long series of cuts, the central bank for the eurozone has now kept its key deposit rate on hold at 2% since July, in contrast to the US Fed and Bank of England which have recently cut in response to signs of cooling economies. Eurozone inflation has settled around the ECB’s two-percent target in recent months and Europe has weathered US President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught better than initially feared, meaning there was little pressure for rates to move immediately. Though the ECB raised growth and inflation forecasts for next year, it still sees inflation as coming in close but just under target for 2026 and 2027. Analysts said there was little to prompt the ECB to move rates any time soon, though they were divided on the longer-term path. “The new macroeconomic projections suggest there is little scope for further easing in the short term and that, rather, risks to the ECB interest rates are to the upside,” EFG Asset Management economist GianLuigi Mandruzzato said. But Capital Economics analyst Andrew Kenningham told AFP ahead of the meeting that he thought any improved forecasts were not necessarily a sign of the eurozone economy regaining real strength.