KFH participates in global forum for Islamic banking institutions
Zahran chairs opening panel on regulatory developments
Group Chief Financial Officer at Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Shadi Zahran, participated in the second Global Forum of the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), held for two days in Amman, Jordan.
Zahran chaired the opening panel themed “Macroeconomic Outlook and Global Regulatory Developments”. This panel brought together Executive Director and Head of the Middle East MSCI - UAE, Robert Ansari, Director & Senior Economist, Japan Bank for International Cooperation - Dr. Etsuaki Yoshida in addition to Special Advisor to the President, Islamic Development Bank Group - Dr. Omar Zohair Hafiz.
Speaking on the panel, Zahran said that the geopolitical instability and the increasing uncertainty makes investments decisions very hard, indicating volatility in oil prices significantly impacts the global economy, where it causes inflation, consumption and affecting demand curve, besides deteriorating oil sector while nonoil activities remain strong.
He added that the UK contributes only 3.6 percent of the world imports of merchandise goods, and 4.1 percent commercial services, indicating the Brexit would impact Europe and would put certain investments on hold.
He discussed during the panel the concern of optimistic views in global financial markets with the fact that the value of many assets is overstated along with not considering increasing global political risks, low yield, not to mention the limited growth and cost of financing.
He discussed the regulatory and economic policies makers’ response, and how that affects the banking business models. Also, the panel witnessed a discussion on topics of tighter capital & liquidity requirements, stress tests, increasing costs of control & governance, in addition to the IFRS 9 provisioning on the basis of expected loss.
The CIBAFI Global Forum brought together top notch Islamic finance experts, and diverse range of decision makers, regulatory bodies and industry leaders to discuss the most significant recent developments of Islamic finance and the major issuers in this regard. The forum was attended by over 200 participants from 30 countries.
CIBAFI is an international organization established in 2001 and Headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain. CIBAFI is affiliated with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). CIBAFI represents the Islamic financial services industry globally, defending and promoting its role, consolidating cooperation among its members, and with other institutions with similar interests and objectives. With over 120 members from over 30 jurisdictions, representing market players, international intergovernmental organizations, professional firms, and industry associations, CIBAFI is recognized as a key piece in the international architecture of Islamic finance. In its mission to support Islamic financial services industry by being the leading industry voice advocating regulatory, financial and economic policies that are in the broad interest of our members and that foster the development of the Islamic financial services industry and sound industry practice, CIBAFI is guided by its Strategic Objectives, which are Policy and Regulatory Advocacy, Research and Publications, Awareness and Information Sharing, in addition to Professional Development.