The UAE Banks Federation, in association with The Banker, organized the fifth annual Middle East Banking Forum, under the theme "Harnessing the forces of global disruption", on 22 November 2017 at the St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi.
The one-day forum was attended by 400 delegates and brought together senior banking and finance professionals to explore the challenging new environment that banks must now operate in, and how they can make the most of it. The Middle East Banking Forum 2017 was a great success.
The forum explored the current disruptions in the banking industry, and the risks and benefits that it is creating, and also discussed the major challenges that the industry is facing. Keynote addresses, panel sessions and on-stage interviews throughout the day explained how such challenges can be harnessed to profitable effect. Andrei Kirilenko (Director, Centre for Global Finance and Technology, Imperial College Business School, Imperial College London) delivered a keynote presentation discussing the forces of global disruption, whilst Ralph Hamers (Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Board, ING Group) presented the closing keynote discussing capturing the power of digital technology.
Various panels during the day touched on topics such as Financing SMEs in the UAE, and lessons to be learned from other countries Financing SMEs in the UAE, and lessons to be learned from other countries, the session was joined by thought leaders from industry such as H.E Mubarak Rashed Al Mansoori, Governor, UAE Central Bank; H.E Abdul Aziz Abdulla Al-Ghurair, Chairman, UAE Banks Federation; Jassim Al Bastaki, Secretary General, Emirati Entrepreneurs Association and Pier Luigi Gilibert, Chief Executive, European Investment Fund.
Another significant panel joined by Joseph Pelrine, Owner, MetaProg and Miguel-Ángel Rodríguez-Sola, former Chief Executive, Digital and Transformation Division, Lloyds Banking Group, titled: "Breakthrough through agility" – focusing on creating new operating models to succeed in a fast-changing environment. The event also presented a panel titled: Dangers in cyberspace – what would it take to bring down a bank? Bringing together thought leaders and experts from the industry.
Two key presentations were delivered, the first maintained the topics of robo-banker, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence where the other one shed light on enhancing the payment experience in a customer-centric environment.
For more information, please visit our event website here https://live.ft.com/Events/2017/Middle-East-Banking-Forum-2017
