UAE Banks Federation Reviews Strong Achievements for 2015

• Annual Meeting focus on Innovation
• 15 committees set their plans for 2016
• The new committees reflect the commitment of the federation to further improve the banking sector

22 December 2015: The Chairman of the UAE Banks Federation, HE AbdulAziz Al Ghurair, has hosted a meeting to review and appraise the work and milestones achieved by the 15 specialised Committees of the Federation over the year, as well as to discuss their business plan for 2016, focusing on innovation.  The meeting, held in Dubai, was and attended by the chairmen of the Committees, who represent a cross section of the organisation’s member banks.

Items highlighted included the first Trust Index Survey carried out by the Federation in July and August, which showed the UAE to be among the leading countries of the world in terms of customer trust in their banks.  During the year the Islamic Banking Committee initiated a proposal for a Shari’a Compliant Governance Unit (IGU) to be established at the Central Bank to support the further development of Islamic banking audits supervision in the country. An outline for legislation to permit close-out netting between banks and to leverage the UAE as a netting jurisdiction was also put forward by the Federation.

At the beginning of the year the Federation established a number of new committees, covering marketing, audit, operations and payments, IT, fraud prevention & Digital Banking, which increased the total number of specialised committees to 15, as well as a steering committee for the Mobile Wallet project.  Each of the Committees has submitted a plan for the coming year comprising projects to improve the performance of the banking sector in the UAE and to manage challenges anticipated in the year ahead.

The Committees’ work programme for 2016 includes finalising the Mobile Wallet project, improving the regulatory and legal framework for the direct debit system, reducing the impact of the “de-risking” policies imposed by US banks on UAE based counterparties, and encouraging the implementation of more financial literacy programmes by member banks.  The scheduled projects also include stimulating a more standardised approach by banks to the implementation of Al Etihad Credit Bureau guidelines, identifying more effective solutions to avoid credit default by small and medium sized enterprises.

HE AbdulAziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of the UAE Banks Federation, said “This meeting highlighted the sheer scale of work that the Federation is now committed to, reflected by the new committees created this year.  The role the Federation plays, in cooperation with the UAE Central Bank, is becoming more vital to provide a strategic plan for the banking industry and to be ready for challenges may occur.  I am grateful for the time and effort the chairmen and members of the Committees contribute throughout the year to help us maintain a strong and sustainable banking sector.”