UAE Banks Federation celebrates journey from 1982 to 2022

UAE Banks Federation, the unified representative and voice of UAE banks, reaffirmed its commitment to continuing efforts and initiatives and enhancing its capabilities to support the banking sector advancement to promote the sustainable and socio-economic growth of the UAE

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary, UAE Banks Federation praised the continuous support and guidance from the Central Bank of the UAE in developing policies and regulatory frameworks to maintain the safety of the banking system. The Federation also expressed its keenness the continuing to extend support to its members to ensure safe and secure banking and best practices.

His Excellency Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of UAE Banks Federation, said, “Since its founding in 1982, the Federation has constituted an effective platform for exchanging ideas and opinions while strengthening cooperation among its members on various issues of interest to the banking and financial sector in the country.”

His Excellency added, “The outstanding progress made by the banking sector in the UAE is a source of pride for all of us. At the same time, to maintain the sector’s key role as a driver of economic and social development, we need to enhance our capabilities, especially in this digital age of accelerated change.

To meet this objective, UAE Banks Federation features a comprehensive

Jamal Saleh, Director General of UAE Banks Federation

organisational structure that includes the Board of Directors, advisory and consultative councils, technical committees and executive management, which enables it to respond quickly and effectively to upcoming developments.”

His Excellency further said that the Federation would continue to enhance its capabilities to strengthen the prominent position of the banking sector in achieving the UAE’s economic goals.

Since its establishment four decades ago, UAE Banks Federation has taken many initiatives, including establishing two CEOs councils, 25 specialised technical committees and three advisory committees, providing appropriate channels for the 57 members to share their expertise in different areas of banking. To keep pace with global trends, UAE Banks Federation, under the guidance of the Central Bank of the UAE and in collaboration with member banks, has developed several initiatives aimed at accelerating digitalisation and automation of solutions to facilitate customer access to member banks’ products and services in a faster and more secure manner.

It has played a crucial role in strengthening Islamic banking through an initiative to develop the required regulatory framework for the operating environment of these banks in the initial stages.

Jamal Saleh, Director General of UAE Banks Federation, said, “On the occasion of our 40th anniversary, we reaffirm our commitment to building on the strong success of the past four decades under the guidance of the Central Bank of the UAE and its continuous oversight of the sector, as well as our extensive cooperation with all member banks.”

The Federation established the first SWIFT training centre in the Middle East and North Africa, a first of its kind outside OECD countries, in 2021 . The aim is to improve the performance of the payments system, the effectiveness and security of the remittance system, and to benefit from the expertise of the members of the global network “SWIFT” in developing the skill set of the country’s banking and financial sector workforce.