UAE Banks Federation held its Ordinary Annual General Assembly Meeting
2013-04-25
UAE Banks Federation held its Ordinary Annual General Assembly Meeting last Thursday (April 25, 2013) in Commercial Bank of Dubai Headquarter, in Dubai. Headed by H.E. AbdulAziz Abdulla Al Ghurair, Chairman of UAE Banks Federation, in the presence of Board Members and representatives of member banks
H.E Al Ghurair welcomed all attendees, and praised the cooperation and coordination between the Banks, Central Bank and other official entities. H.E Al Ghurair said: "The UAE banking sector has proved the ability to deal with all the challenges and has succeeded in managing and surviving all the crises, and had been able to meet the international standards at all levels through the latest developments and techniques, where the role of UAE Banks Federation has been emphasized in developing cooperation and harmony between the banks, representing their interests and improving the employees skills to provide the best services to customers with a high level of transparency, and contributing to social responsibility and economic development.
During the Meeting, major topics on the agenda were discussed and reviewed, which included approving the minutes of last year General Meeting held on April 4, 2012, and approving the Financial Statements, Auditors' Report for 2012, estimated budget for 2013, and election of the current Board of Directors for the next three years.
UAE Banks Federation approved the Annual Report of 2012 which shows the major achievements and the significant role the Federation has played on different subjects such as "Mortgage Loans Cap", “Liquidity Regulation at Banks”, “Monitoring of Large Exposure Limits”, establishment of “Al Etihad Credit Bureau”, the initiative of proposing rules for “Appointment of Legal Banking Experts” and setting up “Specialized Commercial Courts”.
The annual report emphasized the good performance of UAE banks and the apparent growth almost in all indicators, reflected in achieving comfortable liquidity level, a strong capital base and a high capital adequacy ratio, where the UAE banking sector remains the Arab largest in terms of assets. The number of national banks remained 23 by the end of 2012, however, their branches rose up to 805 in 2012, compared to 768 branches in 2011. Meanwhile, branches of the 28 foreign banks operating in the local market rose to 83 by the end of 2012
The General Assembly Meeting was concluded by ratification of the UAE Banks Federation Business Plan for 2013 which was approved by the Board of Directors during their meeting early this month, aiming to boost cooperation, coordination and consultation with the Central Bank, Ministries and other Government Entities on all issues related to the banking sector, as well to promote Emiratisation in the banking sector and develop cooperation and harmony among the member banks to perform their role in the economic development, social responsibility and customers protection.
