Your Excellencies, colleagues and distinguished guests.
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the second annual Middle East Banking Forum hosted by the UAE Banks’ Federation.
A warm and special welcome to His Excellency Saeed Al Hamiz, Assistant Governor for Banking Supervision who will give the opening remarks on behalf of The Governor of UAE Central Bank.
Our topic of this year’s conference “Innovation in a digitally connected world” is very relevant for banks globally. The digital revolution has changed the world around us. It has impacted people’s behaviour in all respects from the social interaction to news broadcast to purchasing behaviour and doing financial transactions. The roles and boundaries of different players within the commercial and economic space are changing.
On one hand, banks are losing the traditional stronghold to new innovative non-banking digital players and, on the other hand digital revolution has opened up a new world of opportunities to banks that are innovative and willing to experiment.
As banks we have always had to be creative to succeed, but in today’s digital environment innovation is more important than ever. Branches are still popular, and customers like to talk to their bankers face-to-face or by telephone. But people and businesses are increasingly conducting their transactions and seeking advice through computers and mobile devices.
We recognise that change will come, and change must come. This is why the UAE Banks Federation is working so hard to create the Mobile Wallet, supporting the UAE Government’s Smart Government initiative by enabling payments through mobile devices nation-wide and increasing financial inclusion in the economy.
At our conference this year, we are delighted to be joined by a host of leading thinkers and practitioners in the digital financial world.
Your Excellencies, colleagues and distinguished guests.
I would again like to welcome you all to this conference, and to wish you a stimulating and enjoyable day.
