Welcome to the LMA Middle East Insights Newsletter. This newsletter focuses on the LMA’s agenda and activity in the region, providing members with an overview of our priorities, workstreams, and progress.
- 2026 marks a pivotal moment for the Loan Market Association (LMA) across the Middle East. The region is set out as a key strategic deliverable given not just the growth of loan markets but also reflecting the deep liquidity pools and the velocity of firms establishing full offices and resource through the region.
- The LMA’s executive and senior team will be present in the Middle East on an increased frequency to meet key firms and stakeholders to shape and discuss the regional priorities and agenda.
- The Middle East Committee will be reshaped, with relevant working groups established and local resources in place.
- Expectations will be mutual and two way. We work closely with firms and key decision-makers to deliver the right strategy and insights. In parallel, we look to drive active engagement, attract new members, and strengthen the promotion of the LMA through your firms and wider networks.
2025 was certainly a year of progress
The Middle East LMA Committee was set up and started to form oversight of LMA activities and directing the focus areas. Engagement with members also expanded exponentially leading to more direct support. The Sustainable Finance Middle East chapter was also established and is active with over twenty contributors.
Our LMA team was on the ground twice through the year in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We co-hosted a Global Private Credit event in Abu Dhabi with DealCatalyst, ADGM and the LSTA and held bilateral meetings and roundtables with Simmons & Simmons, Loan Book and FAB to discuss the evolving role of the LMA in the Middle East and the future for the regional markets with representatives from 60 firms.
Moreover, we hosted the annual LMA Loan Markets Middle East Conference in Dubai, welcoming a record of nearly 300 attendees from 120 firms. These events were complemented by several roundtables curated to cover LMA legal work, fund formation, and sessions headlined by our loan organisation and agency gathering.
Across these events and meetings, we were able to see many members in person and had the opportunity to showcase the LMA to non-members. You can read more about our work in the Middle East here. The Middle East Conference Report can be viewed here.
How do we deliver tangible outputs?
Simply we will be looking to provide what members want and will work on those that can clearly demonstrate impact. Do they promote liquidity, efficiency, increased transparency and enhance sustainability? If so, based on cost, resource, and expected adoption we will prioritise with the ME Committee.
For 2025 the outputs were really broken into three areas but also this last year was discovery from speaking to many of you.
Firstly, networking and market connectivity sit at the core of the LMA membership proposition. Our programme of LMA-hosted events, alongside collaborations with other organisations on exclusive events and roundtables, reflects a deliberate focus on convening high-calibre market participants and delivering high-quality, relevant content to our members.
Secondly, documentation is another key pillar of the LMA’s support for members. Our Committee identified an opportunity to facilitate the sell-down of newly originated loans to Islamic lenders through the creation of LMA standard transfer certificates. This work, delivered through Project Gold, is designed to reduce friction, improve efficiency, and support greater standardisation. We will release these documents to the market in Q1, using them as a foundation for further Middle East–focused documentation initiatives, all of which will remain member-led.
Finally, sustainability continues to be a priority for the LMA. This is reflected in the transition finance guidance we issued with the active support of many Middle East members. That collaboration highlights the region’s growing influence in shaping practical, market-led approaches to sustainable finance and reinforces the LMA’s commitment to supporting this evolution.
What does 2026 look like?
The first thirty days or first ninety days are always seen as critical in planning for success. Already in 2026, we have been working hard (albeit some of the work started in 2025 so you could say we have cheated a little!).
Events
Only two weeks into 2026, the LMA has hosted events in Kuwait and Saudi in collaboration with Kuwait Banking Association and Al Tamimi. A comprehensive report covering these events, roundtables, and meetings will be published shortly.
February will see the LMA speaking once again at Resolution and Dispute Week in Riyadh, followed by a further two days in the UAE. The UAE programme will include several roundtables covering emerging technology, fund finance, loan market agency, and, as ever, opportunities for loan market networking.
The LMA Middle East Loan Markets Conference will return to Dubai in October 21-22 and will, for the first time, feature FutureLend Middle East. This nomination-only programme is designed to support emerging talent from our member firms in the region and beyond. The timing also provides an opportunity to deliver additional bespoke training in collaboration with our partners.
Documentation
Project Gold is nearing completion and will be launched in March. This is the first step to a suite of LMA Middle East documentation. And post launch we will be looking to collect data and check adoption.
Committee and Board
Our Middle East Committee will be changing over the next month. It needs to reflect a diversity of roles, firms, and geography to truly represent the Middle East and the LMA and we will be increasing the size to then allow appropriate Working Groups to be stood up. To be successful, the LMA needs ownership and accountability – these involvements are not ceremonial – and we are confident in the starting position. Of course, 2026 will allow us to measure the performance and impact and this Committee will see change in 2027.
Hire
LMA hired a Head of Middle East who will be based locally and accountable for owning the strategic agenda. This hire will also look to bring on support through the next months, but only after a prioritised workflow is collated. I would want our key stakeholders to welcome the incumbent and look to host regional roundtables to collate feedback.
With over fifty members in the Middle East, the LMA has significant opportunity to not only grow our membership base but more importantly to scale these numbers into tangible outputs supporting the loan markets and also extending the geographic reach.
Please sign up to our Monthly Updates to receive this newsletter. We look forward to continuing to engage with you and to shaping our agenda in a way that reflects your needs and priorities. If you have any feedback or suggestions, please do share them by emailing Leyla.Ghaffar-Zadeh@lma.eu.com.
