Leading Arab banks to participate in SWIFT’s annual global financial services event

Monday 29 August 2016

Dubai - MENA Herald: SWIFT, a member-owned cooperative and global provider of secure financial messaging services, announces today that more than 200 delegates and exhibitors from the Arab region will take part in Sibos 2016, which will be held in Geneva from 26-29 September.

Over 8,000 banks, financial and securities institutions, regulators, corporate customers and service providers meet at Sibos, which is held at one of the global financial markets every year, to discuss the issues and trends that shape the financial industry. The Middle East market was first introduced to Sibos in 2013 when the event was held at the World Trade Centre, making it one of the largest events in Dubai in recent years.

This year’s theme is “Transforming the Landscape”. The conference will explore evolving payments and securities industry trends, the latest from the financial crime compliance world, innovation, opportunities and challenges in technology, disruptive competition and cultural shifts, as well as other hot topics impacting the financial landscape.

Sido Bestani, SWIFT’s Head of Middle East, Turkey and Africa, says: “Sibos remains at the forefront of global discussions about the future of the financial industry. SWIFT’s regional community, including banks, financial institutions, regulators and corporates, are keen to take part in the debates that will shape their future.”
Exhibitors from the region include the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar’s QNB Group.
Delegates and exhibitors from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon will have the opportunity to take part in discussions with regional and global industry experts. Over 200 delegates have already registered from the region. Sessions will debate how the shifting sanctions landscape will change compliance dynamics and cover topics on how to safely bank low-risk clients in high risk jurisdictions. In addition, they will have the opportunity to consider how some markets are responding to the real-time payments trend.

Discussions will also focus on the role of Financial Market Infrastructures, the European Commission and European Central Bank’s views on the single market and capital markets union. Additional sessions will look at distributed ledger technology (DLT, also known as blockchain) and the next steps in terms of adoption by the financial industry.
Khaled Moharem, Head of Middle East and North Africa at SWIFT, says: “SWIFT regularly engages with the financial community about issues of tactical and strategic importance to their businesses. Sibos provides the opportunity for the community to meet with like-minded institutions and experts from around the world to exchange ideas and work on common solutions to shared challenges from a global perspective. The Middle East financial industry’s growing support for Sibos is clearly illustrated by the number of participants from the region.”
SWIFT is also organising the Business Forum UAE on 25 October 2016 under the theme: “Building for the future: regulation, innovation and the transformation of banking”. The event is an opportunity for the SWIFT community to come together to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing the UAE today. Keynote speeches and panel discussions will focus on recent developments in financial crime compliance, the impact of global regulations on the UAE, corporate banking and FinTech innovation.

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