Financial Technology Summit highlights role of IT in keeping up with a fast moving industry

The speech was delivered on his behalf by Khalid Ali Al Bustani, assistant undersecretary for Budget and Revenues at the Ministry of Finance and Industry.

"The modern financial industry totally depends on technology to raise, dispense, transfer, and manage funds. This region is no exception to this trend. According to analysts, total IT spending by Middle East banks in 2004 reached over US$ 1 Billion, and this figure is projected to grow by 12% to 15% annually," added Dr. Khirbash.

The two-day event that started today at the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, is being staged by the World Development Forum. It has united senior financial sector IT decision makers in the Middle East to discuss the challenges and the future of this vital sector in this rapidly growing market.

"It is no coincidence that the United Arab Emirates serves as the location for this important new conference; the financial services industry in the UAE and across the region is moving ahead and new technology is at the forefront of this change," said Dr. Khirbash.

He stressed that despite its large size, this level of investment in IT is absolutely necessary if regional financial institutions are to keep a competitive edge, as modern financial services is essentially a technology-driven industry.

Participants at the summit will address issues related to banking challenges, information storage and management challenges, lifecycle management, and the concept of the bank of the future. Integrated information security architecture and aligning IT strategy with business strategy will also be discussed at the summit.

Dr. Khirbash highlighted that financial technology is not only a tool to facilitate and improve financial transactions; but it is also, more importantly, a way to empower customers to manage their own finance. "I believe technology will be the key enabling factor in differentiating who will be the best in its class," he noted.