Hawkamah Institute, Union of Arab Banks confirm expert jury for Corporate Governance Award

The Hawkamah-UAB 2009 Bank Corporate Governance Award is being presented with the support of MasterCard Worldwide.

Jury panel members include Professor Andrew Chambers, who has extensive experience in corporate governance, risk management and internal auditing. Chambers, an industry recognized expert, was founder editor of Blackwell's International Journal of Auditing. Currently, he chairs a number of high-profile committees in the UK and internationally, in addition to teaching at several leading universities in the UK.

Alan McIntyre, another industry veteran, will also be on the jury panel. McIntyre has 30 years of experience in financial assurance, public offerings and due diligence in a variety of countries and considerable experience in the Middle East.

The jury panel of elite members has been put together to evaluate the Award applications. Each application is anonymous to the jury panel throughout the reviewing process and the results will be based on an independent jury decision. Hawkamah and UAB will not participate in the decision-making process.

Dr. Nasser Saidi, Member of the Board, Hawkamah said, "In light of the global economic downturn, Hawkamah would like to reiterate the importance of implementing good corporate governance principles and practices. Stronger corporate governance at the level of individual banks is now essential to mitigate systemic risk. The annual Hawkamah-UAB Bank Corporate Governance Award publicly recognizes banks that have shown leadership in implementing good corporate governance practices. We look forward to receiving applications for the 2009 award."

Saidi added, "As corporate governance holds the key to the region's economic growth prospects and sustainability, we are pleased to foster better corporate governance with our partner the Union of Arab Banks and are thankful for the support of MasterCard."

Dr. Fouad Shaker, Secretary General, Union of Arab Banks, commented, "The UAB is keenly anticipating the announcement of the Hawkamah-UAB Bank Corporate Governance Award and we would like to extend our appreciation to the members of the expert jury panel."

Raghu Malhotra, area business head, Middle East, Gulf countries, MasterCard Worldwide commented:

"It is great to see that the Hawkamah-UAB Bank Corporate Governance Award has generated strong interest throughout the years and is being well received, once again, by the banks in the region. MasterCard is delighted to lend its support to this prestigious award for the third consecutive year. Since its inception, this award has contributed to the advancement of corporate governance in the Middle East and Levant and has promoted transparency and efficiency in the banking sector."

Entries to the Award are open to all Arab banks, with submission of applications starting on 21st April 2009 and ending on 15th September 2009. The Award winner and the two runner-ups will be announced on 9th November 2009 at Hawkamah's 4th Annual Conference to be held in Dubai, UAE.

Interested banks can participate in the awards by submitting their entries according to the set criteria, regulations and requirements. Application forms are available on Hawkamah and UAB websites. To encourage greater regional participation by Middle East banks, the application fee has been waived.