Financial Technology Summit to envision 'The Bank of the Future'

Under the theme of "Bank of the Future" the summit is organized by the Dubai based World Development Forum, and is aiming at discussing the major challenges facing the Arab banking sector.

The summit will host the CIOs & Senior IT decision makers of the Top 100 Arab Banks & Central Banks in the region

This year agenda will focus on core issues including IT Governance, Regulatory & Compliance, Aligning IT & Business Strategies, Next Generation Banking Platforms, High Performing Operating Models and Organizations, and achieving quality through IT services management.

The event will also discuss the most pressing issues related to anti-money laundering , as it represents one of the most serious challenges that necessitates further investments in technology by the Arab Banking sector.

Commenting on the importance of the event, Dr. Kharbash highlighted the significance of this year's event, due to the increasing need for coordinated efforts among the Arabs to achieve the optimum utilization of modern technological solutions in enhancing the performance of the banking sector which capitalized on the recent economic and social developments as well as the abundant liquidity.

"There is no doubt that we are in dire need for organized scientific efforts to support our knowledge base, especially if the matter is related to one of the most sensitive and important issues today," Dr. Kharbash explained.

"Investing in technologies is no more a luxury, it is rather a need necessitated by the nature of the new economy, and an invaluable strategic option," he added, pointing out that the nations enjoying abundant liquidity and open societies are most vulnerable to the problems posed by the modern age.

"A matter that highlights the importance of utilizing modern technologies to achieve economic development objectives" he said.

The minister emphasized the importance of technology in combating money laundry citing a recent study, which concluded that any given money laundering for US$5 billion results in US$5.63 billion to US$11.26 billion of Gross Domestic Production (GDP) losses. The study also claims that such amount would result in the loss of 125,000 to 250,000 jobs in the national economy.

"Studies rank money laundry as the biggest challenge facing the financial industry and the global economy at large as it represents 5% of Worldwide GDP, or more than US$1 trillion annually according to the reports of the international committee for combating money laundry," said Dr. Kharbash.

"These are staggering figures, especially if we take into consideration its negative impact on the national economies, as well as security and the society," he remarked expressing his hopes that this year's FT Summit would succeed in benefiting from the technological advancements to eliminate these dangers.

The first and second rounds of the event attracted major officials and figures, including 70 per cent of the IT executives in the TOP 100 Arab banks.

"The event was successful in providing for a qualitative approach that allowed IT Vendors to communicate and interact directly with the Banking industry leaders and decision makers, for the purpose of supporting the utilization of technological solutions and applications in the Arab financial sector," commented Khaled Eid, the Managing Director of the World Development Forum, who explained that the event focused from the outset on the issues that represent the drivers for economic development, which can be adopted through a real partnership between the financial and information technology sectors.

The sponsors of this year's summit and exhibition include the Giants in the financial technology field, including Oracle, STME, Juniper Network, and Ejada, as gold sponsors. While Trend Micro and ITS are the silver sponsors, and IMTAC is the bronze sponsor.