Emirates NBD holds first joint wholesale banking customers' dinner

The Dinner was attended by H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade as well as H.E. Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer, Chairman of Emirates NBD. The evening hosted Members of the Emirates NBD Board, Senior Managers, VIP guests and wholesale banking clients. The event comes in line with the bank's efforts to integrate its operations and keep its institutional customers aware of the latest developments.

H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi addressed the audience on the financial services sector and its role in the Middle Eastern economic growth, "The Middle East's financial services sector, which currently includes more than 600 financial institutions, is enjoying unprecedented growth. The banking sector alone is expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate of 18% towards the year 2011. In addition, despite tough competition, total bank deposits for the region are projected to increase by 19.18% for the same period," she said.

Commenting on the formation of Emirates NBD, Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi said:" the formation of Emirates NBD is intended to be both a national and regional standard-bearer for banking. As the largest bank in the Middle East region in terms of assets, Emirates NBD is expected to fuel higher competition in growing inter-market banking and will assume a vital role in achieving further prosperity for the region through its solid financial and managerial expertise."

H.E. Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer, Chairman of Emirates NBD shared his views on the current and future economic situation of the region and the country saying: "The creation of Emirates NBD is driving the UAE's financial services industry to the regional and global arena. This would lead to further growth in the financial services activities in 2008 as domestic and foreign competition picks up. Strong economic growth, robust balance of payments position, fiscal surpluses and negligible debt in the foreseeable future are making the overall economic picture very positive."

The evening aimed at providing an opportunity for Emirates NBD wholesale banking clients and senior management to network and to provide customers an overview about the recent updates relating to the integration progress. The ceremony was organized on the eve of the upcoming EuroFinance Annual Conference on Trade, Treasury and Cash Management that Emirates NBD is closely associated with.