OAB participates in IIF Mena Financial Summit

MUSCAT: Amin Al Huessaini, CEO of Oman Arab Bank, participated in a panel discussion on the ‘New Challenges Facing GCC Banks: Views from the C-Suite’ at the IIF Mena 2017 Financial Summit held recently.

Organised by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) the summit was held at the Ritz Carlton – Dubai. This financial world event was attended by more than 250 financial leaders and policymakers from across the Mena region, including global market participants.

The summit featured expert panels and keynote speakers addressing topics of central importance to the financial industry, while discussing challenges and opportunities for this important and dynamic region of the world. These were conducted in a series of nine sessions and four keynote addresses, with topics ranging from ‘the outlook for the global economy’ and ‘developments in the global oil market’ to ‘current initiatives in the region promoting technology and innovation in the financial industry’. Al Husseini participated as a panellist in a session on the new challenges facing GCC banks, held on the first day of the summit. The session illustrated how financial institutions overcame the challenges faced in light of the sharp fall in oil prices, tightening liquidity and rising interest rate.

Commenting on his participation in the summit, Al Husseini noted, “I am privileged and humbled to sit on a panel representing the Omani Banking Sector. The IIF Mena Financial Summit provides a valuable opportunity for financial business leaders and experts from the Mena region to touch upon the various headwinds being faced by the banking and financial sector; facilitating the exchange of strategies and experience, together with possible solutions.

Al Husseini, together with the remainder of the five-member panel, provided attendees with an outlook on the overall environment for banks in the GCC in the next 12 to 24 months; including the key challenges they will face with regards to liquidity, regulatory developments , and the implementation of the new accounting methodology IFRS-9. The discussion panel also touched on other key areas of interest including industry consolidation, compliance, cyber security, digital disruption, and debt capital markets.