Emirates NBD’s CEO Shayne Nelson said that there is a need for further consolidation in the UAE banking sector. He said that there are far too many banks in the UAE and for smaller banks investing in areas such as digital technology and compliance would be challenging for small banks.  UAE banks compete with local banks and those based in the Dubai International Financial Centre, the country’s financial free zone. He further said that competition is very strong in retail, corporate and wholesale segments. ENBD has been incurring massive costs to comply with US regulations for USD clearing. He said that the number of people in compliance has increased 300% in three years. He further said that many of our segments are under pressure from a profit perspective just because of compliance costs. The UAE currently has 51 banks servicing a population of 9mn people. (Bloomberg)   Emirates NBD (DU): AED8.00 as of 25 October, Rating: Buy, FV: AED9.80/share, MCap: USD12,115mn, EMIRATES UH / ENBD.DU