UAE Banks Federation (UBF), the umbrella body representing banks operating in the UAE and the unified voice for the UAE banking sector, hosted a roundtable dinner meeting with Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo, on 21 June 2022.

The roundtable meeting discussed the latest financial sector developments and the wide-ranging measures undertaken by the UAE banking sector.

The roundtable meeting was organised and attended by Jamal Saleh, Director General of UAE Banks Federation, and was chaired by Mrs Hana Al-Rostamani, Group CEO of First Abu Dhabi Bank.  Along with Mrs Rostamani, attending the meeting were the CEOs of few prime UAE banks, including Shayne Nelson, Group CEO of Emirates-NBD; Mrs Rola Abu Manneh, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank; Mrs Elissar Antonios, CEO of Citi Bank UAE; Dr Bernd Van Linder, CEO of Commercial Bank of Dubai; and Vince Cook, CEO of National Bank of Fujairah.

Deputy Adeyemo was joined by his accompanying delegation from the Department of US Treasury as well as US Consulate/Embassy in the UAE.

During the meeting, both parties discussed the most significant developments in the banking and financial services sector in the UAE and USA. Adeyemo noted that financial institutions needed to maintain caution in managing risks and take sufficient enhanced due diligence to ensure meeting KYC (know your customer) requirements, as well as overcome threats and challenges, faced.

 “This roundtable discussion provided us an opportunity to discuss with, Deputy Secretary Adeyemo, the measures and solutions adopted by UBF member banks to counter fraudulent activities, as well as convey to him the support and guidance provided to all member banks by the Central Bank of the UAE to maintain robust compliance processes. We are continuously working with our UAE Central Bank to solidify the effectiveness of anti-money laundering systems and reduce risks which UBF member banks face,” said Mrs Hana Al-Rostamani.

Commending UAE’s efforts, Adeyemo thanked UBF for organising this opportunity to bring the two groups together to exchange views.During its recent second meeting for the year 2022, UAE Banks Federation (UBF)’s CEOs Advisory Council discussed the latest developments in the local and global banking and financial sector for the past quarter (April to June 2022). The virtual meeting also discussed UBF’s implementation of resolutions adopted in the CEOs Advisory Council meeting of March 2022.Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of UBF, announced forming of a second council named the CEOs Consultative Council, which comprises CEOs of banks that were not members of the CEOs Advisory Council; the new Council was created in order to take a much broader view from its member banks’ CEOs. Concurrently, a few members from the Advisory Council, established over 10 years ago, were moved to the ‘Consultative Council’ with the objective of assisting the Council’s Chairman to lead the way forward with their expertise gained while serving the Advisory Council. Meanwhile, a few CEOs were added to the CEOs Advisory Council to ensure both councils maintain sufficient diversification in representation.

 During the meeting, the Advisory Council discussed many important topics and developments, particularly the continuous cooperation with the Central Bank of the UAE. Members further discussed the meetings of UBF’s specialised technical committees tasked with enhancing the banking sector through adopting best practices and enhancing banks’ policies.

CEO’s Advisory Council’s members also lauded the continuous and coordinated efforts made by the Central Bank of the UAE, with complete support from UBF and its members, to increase the pace of Emiratisation in the sector through enhancing the skills and qualifications of Emirati youth and future banking leaders.

Established in 1982, UAE Banks Federation (UBF) is a professional representative body comprising 54 members of banks and organizations operating in the UAE. UBF advocates the interests of all its members and enhances cooperation and coordination between them in order to elevate UAE’s banking ecosystem for the benefit of members, customers, and the overall UAE economy.

UBF’s mission and objectives are focused on representing its members and defending their rights and interest.  UBF provides a platform for cooperation and exchange of ideas and expertise among its members, and plays a major role in raising public awareness about the contributions of the UAE banking sector to the economic and social development of the country.

UBF has a 22-member Advisory Council consisting of CEOs and General Managers from member banks and institutions, which oversees the implementation of UBF’s policies and activities. The CEOs Council also makes directional decisions through UBF’s General Secretariat for UBF’s 25 technical and 3 advisory committees, who in turn are tasked to discuss all issues relevant to the UAE banking and financial services ecosystem.