|By Arabian Post Staff| A high level panel will examine the effects and ramifications of de-risking for Middle East banks, under which correspondent banking relationships are constrained or blocked by international regulators protecting their banks from perceived risk such as money laundering or financing terrorism.
The panel will discuss how banks manage de-risking, how it affects their small and medium sized corporate clients in the Middle East in particular, and how to avoid its unintended consequences.
The discussions will be part of the UAE Banks Federation’s (UBF) 4thMiddle East Banking Forum in Abu Dhabi to be held next month.
AbdulAziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of the UAE Banks Federation commented: “Because we live in a digital world where everything is quicker and less complicated but with more challenged regulations, banks have to put further efforts to promote and strengthen bonds of trust in the financial world. Trust about where someone’s money comes from, trust about who they are, trust even deriving from where they live. Today, de-risking is on everyone’s mind, not only banks, but corporates and individuals as well. Our aim for this year’s forum is to gather experts from around the world and try to come up with solutions that will benefit all stakeholders.”
On the panel addressing this issue will be Ajay Badyal, Head of Assurance and Advisory Services Unit of the Compliance Function at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Justine Walker, Director of Financial Crime at the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) and Redmond Ramsdale, Senior Director and Head of GCC Bank Ratings, Fitch Ratings.
