In August, Mashreqbank announced plans to launch an independent Islamic finance subsidiary with an initial capital of US$135m. Whilst this is a significant venture, it is small change to CEO Al Ghurair, whose Mashreqbank Group reported more impressive figures in the second quarter of this year, as core revenues from regular banking business showed considerable increase over 2005.

Total assets were US$10bn by 30 June 2006, up 28% from US$12.7bn a year ago; customer deposits were higher than last year by 27%. Indeed, more than every two households in the UAE bank with Mashreqbank, which is one of the fastest growing banks in the Gulf region and, since April, its shares have been traded on the Dubai Financial Market. All this is very good news to Al Ghurair whose family's stake increased to almost US$3bn, thanks to a surge in Middle Eastern stock markets in 2005.

The group includes subsidiaries in the US (Bank Oman Overseas); Hong Kong (Mashreq Asia limited); and the UAE (Osool Finance Company and Oman Insurance Company). It is also the second oldest commercial bank in the UAE having originally been established as Bank of Oman Ltd. US-educated Al Ghurair wants a broader base of regional and international investors for the bank, and so far seems to be succeeding.

His uncle Saif owns several megamalls, and the family's stake in those projects almost make him a billionaire in his own right. His brother Essa, who went to college in San Diego, operates the second-largest flour-milling company in the Middle East, which is also counted among the ten largest global producers. His grandparents didn't do too badly either, having made a small fortune during the pearl-diving heyday.