The Bank of New York Mellon hosts The UAE Bankers' Forum

The event which is held monthly and organized by Mr. Suleiman Al Mazroui, General Manager Corporate Communications and Community Relations, Emirates NBD, in Abu Dhabi, on the occasion of their 10 year anniversary in the United Arab Emirates.

H.E. Sultan bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE also attended.

During the gathering, H.E. Al Suwaidi addressed the audience with a speech that presented the latest developments in the banking sector for the year 2007 and pointed to the bright future which the industry is expected to witness. He stated that under the directives of H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai and in line with the Governments' Federal Strategy, the UAE Central Bank started implementing its strategy which once completed, will enormously improve the environment for the banking business in the UAE.

He added, "The most important thing that we all have to focus on, at this point-in-time, is to set our business strategies for the short and medium-term to benefit from the opportunities that would be created locally and regionally through the implementation of the Federal Government Strategy."

Mr. Robert Kelly presented the merger experience of the Bank of New York and the Mellon Financial Corporation which was recently completed, saying," Last year was a historic year for BNYM and our clients. We combined two institutions rich in history and unparalleled in their commitment to asset management and securities servicing, the result is an institution positioned to lead our industry for years to come and be an invaluable partner to our clients throughout the world. We are committed to increase our local presence in the Middle East and looking forward to building on our partnerships that we have forged over the years."