6
ANNUAL REPORT 2015
HE ABDUL AZIZ AL GHURAIR,
CHAIRMAN OF THE UAE BANKS FEDERATION
WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP
Despite a year of declining net profits for most of
its banks, the UAE’s banking sector remained robust
in 2015, supported by a resilient and diversified
economy which has continued to buffer the country
from the effects of external challenges such as lower
oil prices and subdued global economic growth.
Through its efforts to encourage innovation and
best practise, the UAE Banks Federation achieved a
number of new milestones in its mandate to support
the development of the industry.
As Chairman of the Federation, I am proud of the
hard work and dedication our member banks and
committees demonstrated throughout the year in
their endeavour to ensure the best products, services and overall experience for their customers. But
we do not work in isolation, and partnership is a vitally important aspect of the work that the Federation
does. First and foremost among these partnerships is the close relationship the Federation enjoys with
the UAE Central Bank, which ensures a two way flow of information and feedback that enhances the
understanding and performance of both organisations.
During 2015 the Central Bank and the Federation collaborated on ‘close-out netting’ paving the way
for the drafting of a federal law aimed at regulating contracts and transactions in line with international
best practise and supporting the efficiency of the sector. This important step will improve the stability
of financial markets in the UAE and will support the underlying development of the financial sector as a
whole. In addition, the UAE Banks Federation co-operated with the Central Bank and the UAE Ministry
of Justice to formulate regulations on appointing legal bank experts as well as on the adoption of expert
classification system. The Federation also worked with the Central Bank on its initiative to establish a
Higher Shari'ah Authority to complement and oversee the work of Shari’ah Boards of individual Islamic
banks operating in the country.
Partnerships were also a key ingredient in the continuing development of the mWallet, which supports
the UAE’s Smart Government initiative, and which aims to revolutionise digital payments in the country
as a stepping stone towards the future digital economy. Once launched, the platform will be the world’s
only nationally operated digital payments system for personal customers operated by commercial
banks collectively.
Apart from its work to support the development of the UAE’s banking sector, part of the Federation’s
mandate is to promote the reputation of UAE banks. For this reason the Federation commissioned the
first survey of UAE bank customers for the creation of a Trust Index to gauge the level of satisfaction and
trust towards Federation member banks. The Trust Index marks the beginning of a process whereby
we will track sentiment on an annual basis so as to better understand whether banks are improving
their service performance, and where remedial actions need to be taken. The findings of the first survey
demonstrated the high level of trust that exists in the UAE towards banks compared to most other
countries, but helped us identify areas where improvement can be achieved.
I would like to thank the Central Bank as well as member banks and committees of the UAE Banks
Federation for their tireless hard work in support of the values and principles of the UBF.
CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
