22 Feb, 2010

Regional Financial Leaders Meet to Discuss Key Global Economic and Financial Issues. IIF Forecasts Improving Growth for the Region and for Jordan.

Global and regional leaders of finance are coming together for the Institute of International Finance’s 13th Annual Meeting of Middle Eastern and North African Bank Chief Executives, which is being hosted by Arab Bank. Mr. Abdel Hamid Shoman, Executive Chairman of Arab Bank, stated, “The convening of this very important conference here in Amman symbolizes the rising role of Jordan in the region’s dynamic economic development.”

Mr. Abdel Hamid Shoman added, “We are honored to host this prestigious event and its organizers, the IIF, which is the global association of leading financial services firms. We are also particularly pleased that His Excellency Dr. Mohammad Abu-Hammour, Minister of Finance of Jordan and the Honorable Dr. Umayya Toukan, Governor and Chairman of the Board of Jordan’s Central Bank, will both be delivering keynote speeches to the conference.”

Mr. Charles Dallara, Managing Director of the IIF, said, “We are meeting at a time when it is increasingly clear that 2010 will be a critical year for the global economy and for international financial regulatory reform. While growth in the mature economies of Western Europe and North America is likely to be sluggish, we now anticipate further significant growth in most emerging market economies. The Middle East and North African region has generally weathered the global economic storms well and avoided a recession. We now expect that regional growth in 2010 will approach 4.0 percent, up from about 1.2 percent last year, and we further anticipate that regional growth in 2011 could climb to nearly 5 percent.”

Mr. Dallara pointed out that, “Our discussions here will focus in part on the financial system after the recent global crisis. Many of the IIF’s members have participated extensively in drawing lessons from the crisis and then in implementing necessary reforms. We are now seeing major improvements in risk management, both in terms of governance at the level of the board of directors, and across banking operations. I believe that the improved approaches to governance and transparency as well as to risk management need to be carefully considered by financial services firms in this region. Progress is being made, but there is scope and need for firms in the region to continue with these reforms.”

The meeting brings together not only many of leaders of the foremost banks in the Middle East and North Africa, but also a range of international experts from Europe and North America who will participate in the discussions. A keynote speech will be given by Dr. Caio Koch-Weser, Vice Chairman of Deutsche Bank and former State Secretary for Finance in the German Government, who will address the global dimensions of the financial crisis as well as its implications to emerging markets.

Commenting on the economic challenges facing the MENA region, Mr. George Abed, Senior IIF Counsellor and Director of the Institute’s Africa and Middle East Department, said: “Having been spared the worst of the global financial crisis, countries in the MENA region must now give priority to structural reforms to help raise productivity and achieve higher rates of sustainable growth over the medium term.” Speaking of the Jordanian economy, Mr. Abed said: “This well managed economy has secured growth, increased reserves and positioned itself for further significant advances. The IIF now expects that growth in 2010 will be 4.5% after 3.0% in 2009. As the authorities are well aware, it continues to be a major priority to focus on job creating growth to help reduce unemployment and on measures to curb the fiscal deficit.”

An important part of the conference will be devoted to the lessons learned from the global crisis and the new financial landscape in the MENA region. Two sets of discussions will take place on this theme: the first on the risks and the benefits of globalization will be moderated by Mr. Ibrahim Dabdoub, Group Chief Executive Officer of the National Bank of Kuwait and a member of the IIF Board of Directors; and, the second will be on risk management and transparency in the banking sector, which will be moderated by Mr. Riyad Al-Dughaither Principal Consultant Developed Solutions Consultancy. There will also be a roundtable discussion of how banks in the region can capitalize from emerging global financial trends that will be introduced by Mr. Simon Cooper, Deputy Chairman and CEO, HSBC Bank Middle East Limited. Included in the program will be a session on prospects for global financial markets introduced by IIF Deputy Managing Director Hung Tran, while a roundtable discussion on capital markets will be moderated by Mr. Henry Azzam, Chief Executive Officer, Middle East and North Africa, Deutsche Bank.

An important and timely conference session on the regulatory environment will include perspectives on reform that will be introduced by Mr. Daniel Sigrist, Vice Director, Large Banking Groups, Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority. A discussion of the implications for the financial services industry will be introduced by Mr. Mark Lawrence, Managing Director, Mark Lawrence Group and Senior Advisor McKinsey & Company, who will set out key reforms that financial services firms are already implementing to help build a more resilient financial system.

Mr. Dallara emphasized that, “Decisions that will be taken by governments and regulatory authorities in the course of 2010 will have a profound impact on the structure of the global banking system for many years to come. The IIF, working closely with a large number of senior executives from its member firms has been analyzing new proposals and sharing views with the official sector. It is increasingly evident that the new regulatory landscape will have a major impact on how banks and other financial services firms do business. In view of this we believe that this conference in Amman is important, not only as a forum for reviewing most recent developments, but also as sounding board for the views on this key topic by the region’s financial leaders.”