Dubai, UAE – AU Group Middle East & Africa (MEA) is spotlighting the growing importance of capital relief solutions in enabling banks to sustain and scale lending to critical sectors such as trade, infrastructure, and energy, particularly as global supply chains face increasing volatility.

Recent disruptions across key global trade routes have reinforced the strategic importance of maintaining financing capacity for industries that underpin economic activity. According to Aurélien Paradis, CEO of AU Group MEA, the stakes extend far beyond regional markets.

“Resolving disruption in major trade corridors is not just a local matter but a challenge for the whole global economy. It can eventually lead to stagflation, weak growth combined with inflation, which is a nightmare scenario for countries,” said Aurélien Paradis.

As GCC economies continue to expand infrastructure pipelines, energy production, and trade activity, banks are under mounting pressure to optimize balance sheets while meeting growing demand for financing.

Capital relief solutions, through the transfer or mitigation of credit risk, allow banks to reduce risk-weighted assets and free up capital to redeploy into high-impact sectors. This is particularly relevant in today’s environment, where disruptions to energy and commodity flows are placing additional strain on global markets.

The scale of exposure highlights the urgency: approximately 20% of the world’s oil supply, around 20 million barrels per day, transits through the Strait of Hormuz, alongside significant volumes of gas, fertilizers, and petrochemicals. Even short-term disruptions can have ripple effects across multiple industries.

“An economy produces goods and services every day, but without energy there is no economy,” Aurélien Paradis added.

Beyond energy, the impact extends deep into industrial supply chains. Petrochemical feedstocks such as naphtha have seen price increases of over 60% during recent disruptions, affecting plastics, packaging, and manufacturing inputs globally. Meanwhile, the Middle East remains a critical supplier of aluminium, accounting for around 8% of global production, with prices rising from approximately $2,400 to $3,500 per ton amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

These dynamics are increasing demand for financing across the real economy, even as banks face heightened capital constraints.

“Banks in the GCC are at a pivotal moment,” said Paradis. “They must continue to finance trade, infrastructure, and energy projects, while carefully managing capital in an increasingly volatile environment. Capital relief provides a critical bridge between these competing priorities.”

By unlocking additional lending headroom, capital relief enables banks to remain active in supporting trade flows, infrastructure development, and energy projects; sectors that are central to the GCC’s economic diversification strategies.

“Capital relief is ultimately about enabling growth. It allows banks to keep financing the real economy, supporting businesses, ensuring continuity of trade, and contributing to long-term development,” Aurélien Paradis concluded.

AU Group MEA continues to support financial institutions across the region with tailored capital relief solutions aligned with regulatory frameworks and strategic objectives, helping banks strengthen resilience while maintaining their role at the center of economic growth.

About AU Group

Since 1929, AU Group, a brokerage and consultancy firm specialising in credit & political risk management and working capital financing, has been working alongside B2B companies. AU Group advises and supports its customers in an innovative way to meet their challenges of securing and managing trade receivables as well as financing their growth. AU Group operates throughout the world, in all business sectors and for all types of company. Every day, the AU Group teams develop tailor-made solutions and recommend the best proposals to its clients, negotiate with providers and then implement and help to manage the selected solutions. AU Group is an independent, 100% family-owned company with 310 committed experts in 50 countries.

For more information: www.au-group.com

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