December 2023

December 2023

Masters of their Markets Nael Mustafa CEO of GFH Partners

December 2023

Masters of their Markets Nael Mustafa CEO of GFH Partners A MEA Finance Publication

14 Global Economic Outlook|18 Digital Banking Trends|30 Leadership Series|38 Wealth and Investment Summit|52 MEA Finance Awards 2023 Winners

Congratulatio of the MEA F

ons to all the winners Finance Awards 2023

Mixed Emotions

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elcome to the end of 2023 and the year’s concluding edition of MEA Finance.

Every year that passes retains its own history of differing actions and occurrences. From our perspective as publishers of a banking and finance magazine focused on our region, the mix of the past year’s positives and negatives seems more defined than before. There is wide awareness of the challenges and uncertainties currently facing the world, occasionally accompanied by a sense we are approaching a general tumult.

But equally there is a balancing hopefulness in parts of our region based on robust economic performance coupled with a determination to maintain development and attain further successes.

This issue of MEA Finance also provides a varied mixture of themes, thoughts and feelings. In what must be both figuratively and if literally attempted, one of the messiest mixed metaphors ever conceived, this edition offers a full buffet of items on a roller-coaster ride of both concerning and upbeat reading.

Moving up, our cover story, from page 34, features Nael Mustafa, CEO of GFH Partners talking about their successful approach to global real-estate investing, “one of the key strengths of GFH Partners is its ability to capitalise on the specialist local knowledge of its affiliates”.

On declining rails, page 32 puts an ear in a talk between Professor Richard Werner, known as the Father of Quantitative Easing and Oscar Wendel from MCH Global, where you will read a warning about the nature of CBDCs, “what we will get if we allow CBDCs is a Soviet style Economy” cautions Professor Werner.

Now back toward the heights with our coverage of the MEA Finance Annual Industry Awards. From page 52, read about the leaders, innovators, banks and businesses whose efforts and successes have made them winners of the region’s most soughtafter banking, finance and technology accolades.

Dan Woods, Global Head of Intelligence at F5, joins you on a gentle downward slope from page 24, focusing on Cybersecurity, detailing the latest threats and vulnerabilities banks should be aware of. We level out from page 28, where Habib Ghanem, Regional Director for Backbase assesses current digital banking needs, then an inclining section follows with George Hojeige, CEO, Virtugroup, highlighting the impending tax obligations in the UAE and how they are helping SMEs to adjust to this new reality, see page 30.

On a long, swift and level section starting at page 38, we provide you with coverage of our 2023 Wealth & Investment Summit. Held at the Ritz Carltin JBR hotel on the 9th of November, this much anticipated and well attended annual event, once again platformed the leaders and innovators at the vanguard of the region’s exciting and expanding wealth management and investment sector.

From page 18, stretching to see what is over the approaching rise, we take a look at the coming developments in digitisation and AI in banking and the effects to expect, “Inaccurate responses by AI tools could lead to lawsuits and / or regulatory fines”, says Ronit Ghose, Head, Future of Finance team in Citi Global Insights.

Our track veers from side to side as the Global Outlook from at page 14 looks at the different directions the world is being pulled between, but our Market Focus this issue, page 10, smoothly alights us at a look at the GCC, describing the region as making the best of the relative buoyancy of these nations.

With a round-up of recent market news at the start of your ride, we hope that the ups and downs successfully mix to provide you a levelheaded, yet gripping read this month.

mea-finance.com

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS 32

MARKET NEWS

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Central Bank of Bahrain issues new ESG reporting framework

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ADIB partners with Visa to launch Instalment Solution in UAE

GCC FOCUS

10 Making Hay While the Sun Shines GLOBAL OUTLOOK

14 Heads or Tails DIGITAL BANKING TRENDS

18 Coming Soon 22 A New Paradigm of Growth CYBERSECURITY

24 Covering all Bases PARTNER PROFILE

28 Time for Action LEADERSHIP SERIES

30 Taxing Times

MEA Finance WEB: www.mea-finance.com EMAIL: info@mea-finance.com PUBLISHED BY: Creative Middle East Media FZ LLE, 19th Floor, Creative Tower, Fujairah Creative City, PO Box 4422, Fujairah, UAE

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Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

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OPINION PIECE

32 Approaching the Event Horizon COVER STORY

34 Masters of their Markets WEALTH AND INVESTMENT SUMMIT

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The 2023 MEA Finance Wealth and Investment Summit

MEA FINANCE 2023 AWARDS

52 Peak Performance MEA FINANCE 2023 AWARDS WINNERS

54 Peak Performance

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54 30 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND PUBLISHER Kenneth Mitchen ken.mitchen@mea-finance.com GROUP COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Nap Estampador nap.estampador@mea-finance.com Tel : +971 50 100 5488 DIRECTOR Andrew Cover andrew.cover@mea-finance.com Tel: +971 50 931 3236

EVENTS AND MARKETING MANAGER Cris Balatbat crissyb@mea-finance.com Tel: +971 58 594 4818

ADMIN AND FINANCE MANAGER Marilyn Nainque marilyn@mea-finance.com Tel: +971 58 5025836

EVENT AND CONTENT DIRECTOR Natasha Cristi natasha@mea-finance.com Tel: +971 50 303 4235

WEB ASSISTANT Marie Orayan web@mea-finance.com

SENIOR DESIGNER Florante Magsakay Tel: +971 52 570 1811 design@mea-finance.com

EDITORIAL editorial@mea-finance.com

Dubai office: #404, Building B, Al Saaha Offices, Old Town Island Burj Khalifa District PO Box 487177, Dubai, UAE Email: info@mea-finance.com

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MARKET NEWS

Central Bank of Bahrain issues new ESG reporting framework The framework provides listed companies with guidelines on the reporting requirements for ESG factors

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he Central Bank of Bahrain (C B B) h a s i s s u e d n ew Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting framework in line with the apex lender’s commitment to transparency, strong corporate governance and pursuit of social and climate-related objectives.

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Th e m o d u l e i s d i re cte d a t a l l listed companies, banks, financing companies, insurance firms and investment firms. It provides them with guidelines on the repor ting requirements for ESG factors.

The central bank recognises that the ESG landscape is ever-evolving,

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

a n d t h i s m o d u l e re p re s e n t s a transformative step towards a more sustainable financial market. The issuance of this module underscores the CBB’s dedication to both national and international social and climaterelated objectives.

It also reinforces the central bank’s overarching objective of upholding transparency in disclosures and promoting strong corporate governance standards.

“Shareholders and investors now expect companies to demonstrate greater transparency regarding their impact on the environment, society and governance practices. The ESG module aims to serve as a valuable tool for companies starting their reporting journey to create reliable, informative and comparable reports,” said Abeer Al Saad, Executive Director of Financial Institutions Supervision at the CBB. Bahrain-listed companies, banks, financing companies, insurance firms and investment firms will start the reporting of these requirements in 2024.

T h e m o d u l e d ra w s o n g l o b a l standards and frameworks to ensure effective ESG integration. It incorporates findings from the ESG Reporting Survey conducted by the CBB in 2022, which involved various entities such as listed companies, insurance firms, banks and investment firms.

C B B c a l l e d o n c o m p a n i e s to proactively implement strategies that enhance their environmental and social performance while upholding the highest standards of governance.

MARKET NEWS

ADIB partners with Visa to launch Instalment Solution in UAE ADIB is the first fully shariah compliant banking group in the world to launch Visa Instalment Solutions

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bu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) in partnership with Visa has introduced the new Visa Instalments Solution (VIS) for its cardholders in the UAE. Under the terms of the agreement, ADIB Visa covered cardholders will soon be able to opt for “Visa Instalments.” This option enables customers to divide their spending into smaller, equal payments at selected merchant checkouts, both online and in-stores, empowering customers to effectively manage their budgets and afford larger purchases effortlessly.

The partnership comes at a time when consumers are increasingly seeking out instalment payment options that align with their financial needs and preferences.

A recent survey by Euromonitor in the UAE revealed that 48% of consumers find instalments make high prices more manageable and less intimidating, while 37% believe these instalment offers help in handling unexpected expenses [1].

With these data-driven insights, ADIB and Visa are committed to empowering consumers with enhanced financial convenience and prudential lending as well as flexibility through the innovative instalment solution. Additionally, it offers flexible payment solutions, cardholder activation and primacy and strengthens merchant relationships.

Amit Malhotra, Global Head of Retail Banking at ADIB, commenting on the partnership, stated: “Offering our customers a flexible, secure and transparent instalment solution is crucial to help them manage their finances effectively. In response to evolving customer needs, we are proud to be the first Shari’a compliant banking group in the world to introduce this new instalment solution for our Visa cardholders. This collaboration combines our financial expertise with Visa’s global network and technology capabilities,

1. Source: Euromonitor Consumer Survey fielded in August 2022 2. Instalments Landscape Assessment in UAE and KSA, 2022 – A research study conducted by Euromonitor International Ltd., commissioned by Visa

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Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

exemplifying our commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction. Through Visa Instalments, covered cardholders can now enjoy a smooth and hassle-free payment experience while making the most of their money.”

“We are excited to announce this strategic collaboration with our first issuing bank partner in the UAE, ADIB,” said Salima Gutieva, VP and Country Manager for the UAE. “The demand for instalment payment solutions has been rapidly growing in the UAE, especially for large ticket purchases like home appliances, electronics, jewellery and education related expenses [2]. We believe that this innovative offering will address the evolving needs of consumers while at the same time driving digital transformation in the market.”

This latest addition to ADIB’s diverse covered card portfolio underscores the bank’s commitment to delivering exceptional service to our customers and staying responsive to their changing banking requirements.

GCC FOCUS

Making Hay While the Sun Shines While largely insulated from the wider world’s economic woes, the GCC nations are not resting on their laurels and are emphasising openness and economic diversification, positioning the region to play a role of strategic significance in the evolving global economic order

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he GCC countries – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar – are punching above their weight economically despite a projected slowdown in gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year.

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in October that non-oil activities will be the key growth driver in the Gulf region in 2023 and subsequent years.

The fund forecasted that growth in the oil-rich Gulf region will stall to 2% in 2023

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

from a record 6.1% a year ago due to a drop in oil GDP on the back of ongoing production cuts from OPEC+ countries and lower prices.

The current oil and gas price outlook is creating an ideal environment for Gulf countries to proceed with ambitious reforms under favourable macroeconomic and financing conditions while putting debt on a firm downward path. Overall growth is projected to recover to 3.4% in 2024.

GCC countries are restructuring and opening up their economic activities, rethinking the role of foreign investors as well as the private sector as they play a leading role in the global transition to low-carbon economies.

“The pursuit of national economic transformation agendas will be the main driving force for the GCC countries’ policies in the years to come,” Lombard Odier economists said in October, adding that all six GCC states have long-term economic plans with specific targets for economic diversification and greening of energy supply.

The latest data shows that Arabian Gulf countries remain relatively insulated – in

most measures – from the deteriorating global economic backdrop although there are risks stemming from geopolitical tensions, economic slowdown of the region’s main trading partners such as China and higher financial costs.

It is worth noting that growth in GCC banking assets is linked to regional GDP, which moves largely in tandem with oil prices. The banking sector remains unscathed by the global financial turmoil, owing to regional banks’ solid liquidity buffers, low-cost and stable customer deposits and insignificant exposure to failed banks in the US and Europe.

“With limited effect to the ongoing banking industry crisis in the US and Europe, the GCC banking sector has undergone a fundamental transformation and is now pursuing a strong upward trajectory, boosted by an increasing demand for lending,” Charlie Alexander, EY MENA Financial Services Leader said in Digital transformation is the future of the GCC region’s banking sector. The innovative and digitalisation trends that were accelerated by the pandemic are expected to continue to dominate the industry driven by evolving customer needs and regulatory initiatives.

Overall, the ongoing reform momentum – including the enhancement of regulatory frameworks – and the implementation of policies for sustained private sector-led economic growth and diversification will be as key as ever.

Dynamics of the GCC banking sector Banks in the Gulf region remain resilient to less supportive operating conditions.

S&P Global projected that despite a slight deterioration in asset quality indicators and an increase in the cost of risk, GCC banks will report stronger profitability on the back of higher net interest margins and generally lowercost business models.

The region’s top five lenders – Saudi National Bank (SNB), Al Rajhi Bank, Qatar National Bank (QNB), First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Kuwait Finance House (KFH) –

posted $1.34 trillion in combined net assets in the nine-months to September 30.

QNB, the Gulf’s largest lender by assets, reported a 20% jump in Q3 profit to QAR 11.9 billion ($3.3 billion), Saudi National Bank registered a 6% year-onyear (YoY) increase to SAR 5.01 billion ($1.33 billion), First Abu Dhabi Bank’s (FAB) group net profit soared by 43% to AED 4.3 billion ($1.17 billion) and Emirates NBD said its Q3 profit soared by 38% to AED 5.2 billion ($1.4 billion).

“GCC banks have always operated with comfortable capital buffers, and we do not expect this to change. We think slower credit growth and higher earnings mean that the banks’ capital metrics will remain stable,” said S&P Global.

Profitability in the GCC banking sector will remain underpinned by higher net interest margins and non-interest revenues as assets grow and by lower loan impairment charges as economic conditions remain solid.

Moody’s, Fitch and S&P Global, the so-called ‘Big Three’ credit ratings agencies, concurred that net interest income – the difference between interest revenues earned from lending activities and interest paid to depositors – at banks in the Gulf region has soared over the past year as lenders are passing rate increases on to customers.

GCC central banks - including Qatar and the UAE - followed the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged in November to protect their currencies’ peg against the dollar. The Federal Reserve held interest rates at a 22-year high for a second straight meeting, while cautioning that the recent rise in treasury yields may weigh on the economy and inflation.

The GCC banking s ector has weathered several storms in recent years from the 2008 global financial meltdown to the plunge in oil prices in 2014 to this year’s banking crisis. Of the six GCC states, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have a strong track record of supporting their banking systems in times of stress.

Moody’s said GCC banks are resilient to the US banks’ distress owing to broad franchises and their sovereign footprint. The banking system has largely recovered from the biggest crisis since 2008 following the collapse of three US regional banks and Credit Suisse Group in March that sent shock waves through global markets.

However, despite the volatility in the global banking market, GCC banks are relatively well-placed to manage the contagion risk from this due to limited lending activity in the US. Similarly, banks in the region are strongly interlinked with their respective sovereigns and remain unaffected by the turbulence in the global markets. This is due to Gulf financial institutions’ broad franchises and large government presence across the lenders’ balance sheets.

G o i n g fo r wa rd , g row t h i n t h e region’s banking sector will be driven by technological advancements, strong fiscal conditions, government investments, a positive outlook for oil and gas prices, and an expected improvement in the global economic landscape.

The GCC banking sector is at an inflexion point. The new innovative financial technologies are offering banks the potential to boost revenues at lower costs by engaging and serving customers in radically new ways using new business models.

Similarly, GCC banks are eager to seize the seemingly limitless potential of new and disruptive technologies and open banking to make data, algorithms, transactions, business processes and functionality available to other players in the banking ecosystem.

Fostering sustainable growth The efforts undertaken in recent years by GCC countries to diversify their economies and move away from heavy reliance on oil revenues are starting to position them for strong and sustainable growth.

Though the Gulf region is still reliant on oil and gas – which accounts for 80% of total goods exports and total revenues – mea-finance.com

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GCC FOCUS

the bloc’s six nations are diversifying the economy with a strong focus on foreign investment, tourism, technology and the financial services sectors.

Economists expect the momentum for the non-oil economy to continue in 2024.

While economies in the region still have a long way to go to decisively decouple growth from oil revenues, governments appear determined to stay the current course.

S&P Global said national economic and development strategies signal commitments to diversify the economy through concerted policy interventions and investments. Qatar’s third National Development Strategy, currently under development, is expected to redouble diversification efforts after the country’s hospitality, real estate and retail sectors reaped tangible benefits from the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Doha has significant resources at its disposal and its gas revenues are likely to swell further. Qatar’s public finances are set to receive a massive boost from the completion of the North Field expansion, a $30 billion project that will ramp up the country’s exports of natural gas and condensates.

The IMF said Qatar’s medium-term growth is likely to rise to around 4.5% after the North Field expansion starts boosting LNG production.

The UAE, the Middle East’s most diversified economy, has introduced a series of reforms over the years to increase foreign direct investment and make itself more attractive for foreigners to live and work.

The country unveiled the ‘We the UAE 2031’ Vision in November 2022, an initiative that seeks to increase non-oil exports to $217 billion (AED 800 billion) from current levels (c.AED 350 billion).

Similarly, Operation 300bn – the UAE’s industrial strategy – seeks to more than double the industrial sector’s contribution to the GDP from AED 133 billion to AED 300 billion by 2031.

“Non-hydrocarbon GDP growth is expected to exceed 4% this year and to remain at a similar pace in 2024, driven

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by tourism, construction and real estaterelated developments,” said the IMF. Furthermore, 2023 marks an important juncture as the midpoint of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 journey. The Gulf state’s non-oil growth has been spurred by strong domestic demand, particularly private non-oil investment.

Since 2016, the country’s economy has undergone a breakneck transformation, as it implements reforms to reduce oil dependence, diversify income sources, and enhance competitiveness.

Meanwhile, the Public Investment Fund

address climate change repercussions and make COP28 a turning point.

Most GCC states have stated net-zero commitments and PwC said one way of measuring progress towards achieving these targets is looking at the evolution in the economy’s carbon intensity, which is a measure of how much carbon dioxide is produced to generate a dollar of GDP. The IMF called on GCC governments to consider implementing fiscal reforms “geared towards economic diversification and inclusive growth while addressing intensifying vulnerabilities from climate

THE PURSUIT OF NATIONAL ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION AGENDAS WILL BE THE MAIN DRIVING FORCE FOR THE GCC COUNTRIES’ POLICIES IN THE YEARS TO COME – Lombard Odier economists

– Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund – has been deploying capital, including to help stimulate private sector investment.

Other GCC countries – Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman – are implementing fiscal reforms to maintain fiscal and external balances in comfortable positions over the medium term. Improvements to the business climate and competitiveness have all paid off, though further diversification efforts are still needed and are underway.

Pioneering sustainability Delegates at the 28 th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) descended on Expo City in Dubai on November 30 under greater pressure than ever to get commitments from governments and business leaders to drastically reduce global warming.

Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary-General of the GCC said in November that member states are determined to continue their efforts to

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

change.” GCC countries should therefore ensure that this forms a significant part of their post-pandemic recovery plans.

The UAE will build on what was achieved at COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt in December 2022 and drive it forward with accelerated action. COP28 seeks to transform and urgently accelerate climate action to meet the commitments the world has made.

The forthcoming summit will continue formal negotiations on key climate issues, including setting up the loss and damage fund, a historic breakthrough agreement of COP27 that requires wealthy countries to compensate developing countries that have been impacted by climate change.

The GCC region’s importance is in the spotlight again with rising oil prices.

Meanwhile, the hosting of the COP28 climate summit and the invitation of the bloc’s two largest members – Saudi Arabia and the UAE - to join BRICS are raising the GCC region’s profile.

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GLOBAL OUTLOOK

Heads or Tails The jury is out on the future well-being of the global economy and with both negative and positive influences vying for the outcome, it is hard to tell on which side the coin will settle

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he world economy looks vulnerable. It is still recovering from sticky core inflation rates that were exacerbated by the war in Ukraine in 2022 and another conflict in the energy-producing Middle East region could rekindle inflation. The impending economic downturns in the US and Europe and a dramatic economic slowdown in China are sounding alarm bells across the world.

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The resilience of the global economy has been remarkable, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cautioned that diverging growth trends meant ‘mediocre’ medium-term prospects.

“Despite war-disrupted energy and food markets and unprecedented monetary tightening to combat decades-high inflation, economic activity has slowed but not stalled,” the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook in October.

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

Economists are expecting global growth to slow in 2024 as high-interest rates percolate through credit channels to the real economy. Meanwhile, inflation is set to continue to cool amid slowing demand next year as global central banks maintain a tight policy stance.

Moody’s analysts forecasted three broad but related types of risk – energy or food price shocks could cause inflation to rebound; geopolitical, cyber and climate risks all add uncertainty to the outlook; and high-interest rates could weaken growth and financial stability.

As generative AI (Gen AI) makes great inroads into many industries, the milliondollar question is whether this innovative technology will be an economic blessing or a curse.

Global consultancy firm McKinsey in June estimated that GenAI, such as applications like ChatGPT and Midjourney, have the potential to deliver substantial economic benefits to the global economy, valued as much as up to $4.4 trillion annually.

Furthermore, despite the dramatic demises of three US regional banks and Credit Suisse Group earlier this year, the global banking industry has had a pretty good 18 months. McKinsey’s said the past year-and-a-half have been “the best period for global banking” since before the 2007/09 financial crisis, as rising interest rates have boosted profits.

Bringing it closer to home, Fitch Ratings said in September that GCC banks are benefitting from strong operating conditions supported by high oil prices and contained inflation and rising interest rates.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market is starting to bounce back a year after the collapse of crypto exchange Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange firm FTX and other big players in 2022 crushed prices, tarnished the industry and prompted a regulatory crackdown.

This year has perhaps been one of the most challenging in modern times and it is hard to downplay the scale of the geopolitical and economic uncertainties t h a t t h e w o r l d i s fa c i n g — f ro m individual households to governments to businesses.

securities portfolios and loan exposures after years of low interest rates. Between March 2022 and July 2023, the US Federal Reserve enacted a run of 11 rate hikes, taking interest rates from a target range of 0%-0.25% to 5.25%-5.5%.

Global central banks that mimic the Federal Reserve have since held at that level, prompting markets to mostly conclude that rates have peaked and to begin speculating on the timing and scale of future cuts.

The US central bank held interest rates at a 22-year high for a second straight meeting in November but left the door open to another hike to tame inflation.

of FTX, on fraud charges stemming from the blowup of the exchange platform came at a conspicuous time for the crypto market — right when prices are flying high again following a rout in 2022 that wiped out $2 trillion from the value of digital assets.

With global central banks planning to keep interest rates high and geopolitical tensions threatening financial stability, crypto analysts say adding bitcoin to an investment portfolio can be a good way to diversify. However, other wealth management advisors who are sceptical of the industry are taking a much tougher line, arguing that the demise of FTX confirms crypto as a sector riddled with

DESPITE WAR-DISRUPTED ENERGY AND FOOD MARKETS AND UNPRECEDENTED MONETARY TIGHTENING TO COMBAT DECADESHIGH INFLATION, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY HAS SLOWED BUT NOT STALLED – The International Monetary Fund

A financial perspective The global banking sector has had to chart a challenging course over the past three years, during which institutions faced disruptive digital technologies and new competitors, liquidity woes and some bank failures.

The failure of three US banks and Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse is a wake-up call for the global financial service sector to improve balance sheet modelling, pressure tests their contingency playbooks and to better understand risk silos and asset monetisation capabilities.

The IMF said events that took place in Q1 2023 are a powerful reminder of the challenges posed by the interaction between tighter monetary conditions and the vulnerabilities built up since the global financial crisis in 2008.

A tighter monetary policy is challenging banks’ effective risk management in

However, the situation is different in the Gulf region, where net interest income – the difference between interest revenues earned from lending activities and interest paid to depositors – at GCC banks has soared over the past year as lenders are passing rate increases on to customers.

The region’s top five lenders – Saudi National Bank, Al Rajhi Bank, Qatar National Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Kuwait Finance House – posted a combined net profit of $8.3 billion in the three months to September 30.

Moody’s said banks in the GCC region are resilient to the distress in the US and European banking sectors owing to broad franchises and their sovereign footprint.

Long Live Crypto?

The conviction of former crypto verse billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder

weaknesses that attract cybercriminals, hackers and rogue states.

Meanwhile, UAE financial regulators have introduced measures to attract some of the world’s biggest crypto firms over the years by developing virtual or digital assets regulation and enabling payments via cryptocurrencies.

Earlier in November, the Registration Authority (RA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market unveiled the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Foundations Regulations 2023, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of digital assets regulatory frameworks across the region and at an international level.

The new regime is designed to provide a comprehensive framework for DLT Foundations and Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs), enabling them to operate and issue mea-finance.com

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GLOBAL OUTLOOK

tokens recognising the unique needs of the blockchain industry.

Similarly, the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority started receiving licence applications from companies that seek to provide virtual asset services in April, ensuring that all companies offering virtual assets-related products and services are fully regulated.

Considering the growing interest in digital assets from institutional and individual investors alike, the UAE’s openness and willingness to build a regulatory environment for virtual assets make the country “the Wall Street of the crypto market”.

Global economic growth The global economy is limping along, not sprinting. It is projected to record average growth in 2023, but the deepening slump in China’s property market is casting a shadow over global growth prospects, just as monetary tightening increasingly weighs on the demand outlook in the US and Europe.

“World economic growth will slow from 3.5% in 2022 to 3% this year and 2.9% next year, a 0.1 percentage point downgrade for 2024 from July,” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, IMF’s Economic Counsellor & Director of Research said in a note in October, adding that the trajectory remains well below the historical average.

Though the economy is showing signs of resilience and has not been knocked out by the big shocks it experienced over the past three years, it is not doing too great either as more geo-political issues

GENERATIVE AI, SUCH AS APPLICATIONS LIKE CHATGPT AND MIDJOURNEY, HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO DELIVER SUBSTANTIAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS TO THE GLOBAL ECONOMY, VALUED AS MUCH AS $2.6–$4.4 TRILLION ANNUALLY – McKinsey

with the potential to disrupt the world economy or even tip it into recession have imposed their grip on the world’s attention.

Such conflicts can send tremors through the world economy, especially when in proximity to heavily trafficked trade routes or the location of key natural resources.

However, “Headline inflation continues to decelerate, from 9.2% in 2022 on a yearover-year basis, to 5.9% this year and 4.8% in 2024,” the IMF said in October. The fund cautioned that most countries are not likely to return inflation to target until 2025.

Meanwhile, the adoption of the electric motor starting in the late 1800s, and personal computing in the 1970s proved transformational. Economists say something similar could happen with GenAI if it enters our lives in such a way that the touted benefits are enjoyed by the many rather than the few.

GenAI has had a significant and ongoing impact globally and regionally.

The innovative technology’s impact on

WORLD ECONOMIC GROWTH WILL SLOW FROM 3.5% IN 2022 TO 3% THIS YEAR AND 2.9% NEXT YEAR, A 0.1 PERCENTAGE POINT DOWNGRADE FOR 2024 FROM JULY – Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, IMF’s Economic Counsellor & Director of Research

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Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

productivity could add trillions of dollars in value to the global economy.

Strategy& projected that for every $1 invested in GenAI, the GCC region could expect around $9.9 of economic growth. This indicates a potential overall economic impact of $23.5 billion annually by 2030 in the GCC region.

GenAI will have a significant impact across all industry sectors. Banking, hightech, and life sciences are among the industries that could see the biggest impact as a percentage of their revenues from generative AI. “Across the banking industry, the technology could deliver value equal to an additional $200 billion to $340 billion annually if the use cases were fully implemented. In retail and consumer packaged goods, the potential impact is also significant at $400 billion to $660 billion a year,” according to the World Economic Forum.

The era of generative AI is just beginning, but a full realisation of the technology’s benefits will take time, and governments and regulators still have considerable challenges to address.

Meanwhile, global economic growth is set to slow even further in 2024 due to high-interest rates, increased energy prices and a slowdown in the world’s biggest economies. Economists are generally agreeing that the world will avoid falling into recession, but geopolitical risks could also contribute to a worsening global financial outlook.

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DIGITAL BANKING TRENDS

A New Paradigm of Growth The digitalisation of finance and the emergence of new innovative technologies such as Gen AI have, and will continue to expand opportunities for banks to scale their operations while providing their customer base with new and tailored services

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igital transformation in the financial services sector remains a high priorit y for several reasons. It can help banks reduce costs and increase profitability, maintain a competitive edge in a rapidly changing financial ecosystem and improve operational efficiency across front-to-back-office functions.

“The exponential pace of new technologies and the confluence of multiple trends are influencing how banks operate and serve customer needs,” said Deloitte.

By automating processes and leveraging innovative technologies, i n c l u d i n g a u to m a t i o n , f i n a n c i a l institutions can reduce their reliance on manual labour and lower operating costs.

As we enter 2024, several underlying trends are impacting the prioritisation of investment and the progress made in digital banking transformation including the use of generative AI (GenAI) and cloud technology.

To m e et c u sto m e rs’ evo l v i n g expectations and beat competitive

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threats in the AI-powered digital era, banks must offer propositions and experiences that are intelligent, personalised and blend banking capabilities with relevant products and services beyond banking.

As GenAI makes great inroads into several industries, the question for banks is not whether the advanced technology will profoundly impact their industry, but how. McKinsey projected in June that banks and the wider financial services sector are poised to benefit from savings arising from GenAI to the tune of $200 billion to $340 billion annually.

With customer expectations and technology evolving at breakneck speeds, moving to the cloud is increasingly becoming a strategic priority for banks.

Industry experts see the cloud as an integral part of a modern and competitive banking industry.

“Cloud is the catalyst for financial services organisations to deliver exceptional customer and employee experiences while embedding the operational agility and resilience

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

Ronit Ghose, Head,

required to thrive in a rapidly changing world,” according to Infosys.

The banking technology solutions provider’s cloud capabilities range from cloud migration, cloud modernisation, cloud security, innovation as a service and software as a service (SaaS) among other services.

Meanwhile, open banking is shifting the financial services industry toward hyperrelevant, platform-based distribution while offering banks a window to expand their ecosystems and extend their reach. The innovative technology drives improved collaboration between financial services providers, greater innovation and better products and services for customers.

Digitalisation in the banking sector is a prime example of how financial institutions are leveraging customer data, analytics and segmentation to improve their products and services as well as build a ‘bank of the future.’

The future of banking G C C b a n ks a re ta k i n g a m o re sophisticated approach to their use of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to maximise the value they derive from these digital workhorses.

I n c u m b e n t s a re i n c re a s i n g l y leveraging APIs internally to reduce costs and complexity associated with IT integration while freeing up change capacity by as much as 30%.

Open banking has the potential to reshape the financial services landscape and several financial centres in the emerging markets, the GCC region

included, are making considerable moves in this space. Infosys said open banking, where customer banking data can be shared with relevant third-party service providers, is coming of age and the innovative technology is creating multiple revenue opportunities for banks.

Traditional banks can catalyse growth by operating a range of new models in parallel with the current core of the business.

McKinsey said though several banks are adopting open-banking enablers, successful challenger banks gain a competitive advantage by building an open platform from the outset.

To b e c o m e a va l u e a rc h i te ct , incumbent banks should consider playing a range of roles in the value chain. Furthermore, depending on the size, market and strength of the bank, a legacy bank can embrace any mix of these approaches to increase business model flexibility and differentiate itself from the competition. “ B a n k i n g - a s- a - s e r v i c e ( B a a S) , embedded finance, marketplace ecosystems and banking super apps are all different implementations of open finance, and they are seeing active experimentation and investments by banks and non-banks,” said Infosys.

Open banking in the Gulf region exists on a spectrum, from models driven by regulators to those led by industry.

SAMA unveiled its ‘Open Banking Lab’ last December as part of the Gulf state’s broader strategies to speed up the development of open banking.

The ‘Lab’ constitutes a ‘technical testing environment’ to enable established banks and fintech companies the opportunity to ‘develop, test and certify’ open banking services to ensure compatibility with the framework.

Bahrain is implementing a Europeanstyle regulation-driven approach and the UAE has adopted an Americanstyle market-driven approach under the guidance of the Abu Dhabi Global Market and Dubai Financial Services Authority.

API, a set of communication protocols used to develop computer applications,

are at the core of banks’ Open Architecture and play a significant role in our digital strategy.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank launched its first API developer portal in June 2023 allowing fintech developers to use the Shariah-compliant lender’s APIs. Emirates NBD also unveiled its ready-to-use API developer portal ‘Emirates NBD API Souq’ in September 2022 to provide fintech firms, developers and corporate clients with an all-in-one ecosystem to build innovative financial solutions.

Open banking requires a robust, agile and scalable IT architecture to enable

To maintain a competitive edge, banks must innovate and adopt new digital platforms that are more consumeroriented with rich personalisation, new AI-powered digital tools and services that help them remain relevant.

Front-to-back digitisation of the customer journey requires developing a data- and analytics-powered digital experience that provides personalised engagement, efficiency and convenience throughout the journey at low cost.

The cloud has been a vehicle of digital transformation in the financial services industry. It is an enabler of advanced

THE EXPONENTIAL PACE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND THE CONFLUENCE OF MULTIPLE TRENDS ARE INFLUENCING HOW BANKS OPERATE AND SERVE CUSTOMER NEEDS – Deloitte

API integrations with multiple entities. Its implementation promises to create a new data-sharing infrastructure, which will form the basis of a much richer range of services and products across the whole of financial services.

Banking on the cloud Cloud technology is changing how we bank. Most banks by now have recognised the huge potential for cloud technology to make their systems faster, nimbler and more responsive to the growing and evolving demands of their customers.

The cutting-edge technology is the backbone of digital innovation, and it is shaping the future of the financial services sector. The cloud gives banks access to on-demand resources – such as networks, servers, storage and APIs – that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management or service provider interaction.

analytics in banks as these computer system resources provide space to both stores and analyse large quantities of data in a scalable way, including through easy connectivity to mobile applications used by customers.

Cloud technology and especially SaaS and BaaS models offer banks several opportunities such as easier customer data analytics and sharing, i m p rove d m a r ket i n g t i m e, c o st reduction and enhanced flexibility and operational efficiency.

The cloud is no longer about saving time and money. A study by Infosys shows that businesses stand to add $414 billion of annual profit by using the cloud to increase speed and capabilities to gain a competitive edge.

For banks in the Gulf region, moving to the cloud is non-negotiable because the technology enables everything financial institutions want and require, to compete with digital attackers. mea-finance.com

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DIGITAL BANKING TRENDS

The region is witnessing a generational shift in the way customers are interacting with financial services providers.

Cloud solutions can play a big role in helping banks to understand their customers more and be in a position to make business decisions in real-time including learning about a customer’s spending habits as well as enhancing the agility of financial institutions and enabling secure online payments, digital wallets and online transfers.

GenAI in banking GenAI is making remarkable progress in a wide array of industries, banking included, as demonstrated by the rollout of OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Google parent Alphabet’s Bard. Banks are adopting GenAI, which promises earnings growth, improvements to decision-making and better risk management.

UAE’s Emirates NBD partnered with Microsoft in July to harness the power of GenAI to advance the banking group’s operations and productivity across various business functions. The bank said the collaboration seeks to unlock new opportunities for innovation, efficiency and customer experience within the banking industry.

Globally, Goldman Sachs announced in March that it was using GenAI solutions and tools to aid its software developers in writing and testing code while JP Morgan is also developing a ChatGPT-like software service that leans on a disruptive form of AI to select investments for customers.

Similarly, Infosys launched Infosys Topaz - an AI-first set of services, solutions and platforms using GenAI technologies earlier in May. Infosys Topaz leverages smart tools, platforms and autonomous software engineering to drive organisation-wide synergies by reimagining user personas, data architecture and engineering blueprints for the future.

The hyper-personalisation inherent in ChatGPT capabilities holds the potential to transform the financial

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services landscape radically, setting a new standard for customer experience and engagement.

Furthermore, the large language models (LLM) capabilities at the core of GenAI can aid both digital assistants and customer service advisors with increased levels of insight relating to individual customers’ requirements and the banking services that would best meet their needs.

GenAI is expected to create ‘focused financial offerings’ for individuals within retail and private banking channels

language that the client is comfortable with and receive answers.

Boston Consulting Group said GenAI will eventually collaborate with traditional AI forecasting tools to create reports, explain variances and provide recommendations.

The use of the innovative technology within the banking space is also expected to elevate the finance function’s ability to generate forward-looking insights.

Traditionally, most AI use cases in banking have aimed to either automate tasks or generate predictions. S&P Global said these tasks have been

GENERATIVE AI WILL EVENTUALLY COLLABORATE WITH TRADITIONAL AI FORECASTING TOOLS TO CREATE REPORTS, EXPLAIN VARIANCES AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS, THEREBY ELEVATING THE FINANCE FUNCTION’S ABILITY TO GENERATE FORWARD-LOOKING INSIGHTS – Boston Consulting Group

and for corporate banking tailored to their specific needs and interests is a differentiator that can drive new forms of competitive advantage.

Meanwhile, the adoption of AI in the wealth management space will likely have a significant impact by providing more personalised, datadriven advice in areas such as portfolio optimisation, risk management, fraud detection, tax analysis and even relationship management.

W i t h C h a t G P T ’s c a p a b i l i t i e s expanding, the traditional roles of wealth management and financial advisors may soon become obsolete, paving the way for a new era of customised and intelligent financial solutions.

GenAI will allow affluent investors and HNWIs to access an incredible amount of information and ask questions in a

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

done by supervised and unsupervised machine learning models that require significant computing capacity, and large amounts of data.

However, the potential for GenAI to reshape banking seems vast and the possibilities (and risks) of the new AI are thus yet to be fully tested. GenAI in banking could rapidly and cheaply generate hyper-personalised products and services, augment humans’ abilities and accelerate software engineering.

The banking sector is facing a future marked by fundamental restructuring.

Automation is the focus of intense interest in the industry. Global financial institutions are deploying the latest automation technologies in the hope of delivering the next wave of productivity, cost savings and improvement in customer experiences.

DIGITAL BANKING TRENDS

Coming Soon Ronit Ghose Head, Future of Finance team in Citi Global Insights (CGI) lays out the development of AI and digitisation in banking and finance in the near future Ronit Ghose, Head, Future of Finance team in Citi Global Insights (CGI)

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hatisnextonthehorizon for the digitisation of the regional banking sector?

CX strategy will be shaped by the Financial Empowerment Support (FES) concept, what role will digitisation have in this?

Trends likely to affect banking over the next 3-5 years include (1) ongoing transition to instant real-time payments, including cross-border, (2) impact of next-gen AI tools on improving productivity, taking digital customer services to new levels with hyperpersonalisation capabilities, (3) embedded finance and open banking to improve client experience and help banks unlock new revenue streams and facilitate innovations and (4) growth of blockchain-based money issued by private firms and central banks including Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins, tokenised deposits etc.

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a widely adopted technique for measuring customer experience across industries.

However, critiques cite the inability of this approach to capture the multitude of different ways that customer relationships can be deepened. Financial Empowerment Support (FES) is seen as a more holistic measure of customer experience and a better predictor of positive customer relationship.

Digitisation will play a key role enabling seamless, accessible financial services, personalised interactions and datadriven insights. Additionally, digitisation enhances transparency, reduces barriers to entry and supports financial inclusion.

Why is digitisation pushing customer experience (CX) higher up the priority list for banks?

Customer experience, often measured through net promoter scores (NPS), is often lower in financial services than other industries. While traditional financial institutions have made progress with the increased drive towards digitalisation, they often underperform best in class FinTechs who are built on new business models and technology stacks. Client experience has changed in other aspects of consumer life and customers now expect a similar level of 24x7 self-service opportunities, instant transactions and personalised products/ experiences in finance too.

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How do you see the role of AI in banking and finance taking shape in the next year?

AI use-cases in finance can be categorised as: (1) Client engagement; (2) Operational enablement; and (3) Risk & control. Today, AI use in finance is predominantly centred around risk and pricing but use cases around client engagement and information management will grow. As generative AI takes the world by storm, key applications in financial services are likely to include:

Search, Summarisation & Insights: AI web scrapping, generate research

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

insights, concise summaries, quarterly reports.

Sales & Marketing: Hyper-personalised sales via customer insights, new lead generation from call notes, optimised campaigns.

C ustomer Engagement: Voice assistants, real-time translations, sentiment & intent analysis, real-time language translations.

L egal Tech: Draft contracts, risk assessment on documents, detect internal risk of collusion / insider trading, due diligence.

Software / Automation: Automate routine tasks, codify existing policies / controls, faster code generation, vulnerability testing.

Will Generative AI markedly improve banking and financial services from both the client and industry perspectives?

Generative AI will expand use-cases in information management,coding and others.

AI will enable productivity improvements and assist new entrants / FinTechs to scale faster relative to incumbents.

S oftware development & coding is one of the key areas of productivity improvement.

Many content creation, information management & control function roles in finance will be further automated or AI assisted.

Sales, Product, Technology, Operations and other support functions will all need to have some understanding / knowledge of how the underlying Generative AI technologies work, especially the associated risks Finance is highly regulated and this will slow AI-driven disruption, especially for open-source solutions. AI tools need to be covered by adequate risk management, transparency, explain-ability. Inaccurate responses by AI tools could lead to lawsuits or regulatory fines. Additionally, traditional financial institutions often run legacy infrastructure with multi-year transition processes and implementation of nextgeneration AI tools could be lengthy.

CYBERSECURITY

Covering all Bases Dan Woods Global Head of Intelligence at F5, the multi-cloud and application security specialist, tells MEA Finance about the latest threats and vulnerabilities banks and financial institutions in the region should be aware of, and why managing people is just as important as technology when it comes to cybersecurity.

Dan Woods, Global Head of Intelligence at F5

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hat are some of the key cybersecurity challenges facing financial services organisations?

As in other parts of the world, credential stuffing, in which attackers use bots to

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

gain unauthorised access to a protected a c c o u nt by u s i n g c o m p ro m i s e d credentials – usually login and password details from other accounts purchased off the dark web – remains a problem in this region. Criminals try to gain access using these details in the hope that

the victim uses the same password and login for multiple accounts. Many banks, especially in the Middle East, use mandatory two-factor authentication (2FA) in the belief that it prevents credential stuffing, but it sometimes fails to do so because of the way it’s implemented.

Typically, banks implement 2FA by getting the customer to enter the username and password, click submit, and then enter the second factor code, such as a text message or an email.

However, with some banks, if you enter the wrong username and password, you are not asked to enter the second factor of authentication – and this effectively tells the bad actor whether the username and password were correct, which for them is valuable information.

If the bad actors have 10 million username and password pairs and they launch a credential stuffing attack against a 2FA protected application, they could leave with about 800 known good username and password pairs. Then they partner with somebody who specialises in defeating 2FA and share their illegal proceeds.

How do bad actors circumnavigate 2FA? Defeating 2FA happens in many ways, including social engineering attacks, one time password (OTP) bots, and SS7 compromises. None of them are easy, but when cybercriminals have 800 known good username password pairs, and the 2FA text message or email is the only thing keeping them from taking over the account, they tend to be well motivated.

Social engineering is when the bad actor uses impersonation and trickery, perhaps via a message or phone call, to persuade an innocent victim to provide private information such as 2FA details, login credentials, bank account information, or other sensitive data.

Attackers sometimes use OTP bots to defeat 2FA. These bots call the victim and relay an automated message to trick them into sending the OTP for their bank

IT IS ALSO NOT UNCOMMON TO SEE LEADERSHIP AND CULTURAL CHALLENGES WITHIN AN ORGANISATION, WHICH CAN CAUSE SECURITY VULNERABILITIES account. For example, the bot informs victims of a suspicious transaction, and gives them the option to cancel it, by pressing 1 or 2 on their phone. It will also ask them to verify their identity by sharing an OTP code that has just been sent to them. The problem is that the OTP is being sent legitimately by their bank, but only because the bad actor has the victim’s login details and has just tried to log in.

When the unsuspecting victim sends the OTP code back in the belief that they are cancelling a suspicious transaction, they are in fact handing over their 2FA to a fraudster and giving them access to their account.

ATTACKERS SOMETIMES USE OTP BOTS TO DEFEAT 2FA If the bad actor is unable to defeat 2FA through social engineering, they may move on to port outs or sim swaps. Port outs are when the fraudster tries to move the victim’s mobile number to a new service provider, potentially giving them access to their OTP codes, while SIM swaps involve the criminal attempting to hijack a user’s mobile number, netting them a potential treasure trove of information, from email login details and access to SMS messages - including 2FA codes.

Another technique used by cyber criminals is SS7 attacks, which take

advantage of a weakness in the design of the SS7 mobile signaling system to enable data theft and eavesdropping.

How is AI changing the threat landscape?

Cybercriminals are adept at using new technology, such as generative AI and voice cloning technology, to assist them.

Generative AI is already proving highly effective for bad actors staging phishing attempts, by drafting fraudulent emails such as messages purporting to be from family or friends asking for money.

Thanks to generative AI, these emails are becoming increasingly persuasive and are free from the type of spelling and grammatical errors that would once have served as red flags. Criminals are also using generative AI to help write more effective messages to target potential victims by phone. This is being taken to the next level with voice cloning, where bad actors use AI-based programs to copy a person’s voice and then send a message or call a friend or family member of that person to request money, often with a plausible story about some type of emergency.

The best way to avoid falling for this is to ensure that the person asking for money is really who they say they are.

Every family should have a pre-arranged code that only they know - it could be about a childhood memory, a favorite car, a date, or holiday destination – something memorable that can be used as a simple verification method.

Bringing third parties into the fold Many banks also contend with automated logins from third parties that have access mea-finance.com

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CYBERSECURITY

to customers’ usernames and passwords – with the permission of the customer – to log into their account and retrieve information. These third parties are usually aggregation services that subscribers sign up for and use to help gain visibility across their various accounts, including banks, credits cards and store cards.

These aggregators should actually access account information through a standard called OAuth 2 API, which many banks use and make available to third parties via their Application Programming Interface (API). Unfortunately, many of these third parties view this as an unnecessary hassle and fail to use it, instead opting to use bots to scrape the information from accounts. This creates problems including additional traffic at the application login.

This is particularly important for banks and their customers because when the third parties bypass the API and scrape accounts, they have access to all the information they want from the account – from the user’s name and personal information to their account number and transaction history. However, when they use the API, the bank can set the parameters and ensure the third party only has access to certain information.

F5 gives banks visibility and control over this type of traffic and enables them to force third parties to follow the rules and use the banks’ APIs. Some banks in the US have started charging for access to the API, which enables them to turn a former problem into a new source of revenue.

But the problem with third parties is not just unwanted traffic on the login application, they can also create security vulnerabilities. Instead of targeting the login application, some cybercriminals open accounts with these third parties and attempt to use them as a staging post to steal username and password information and gain access to bank accounts.

While third party aggregators are not necessarily malicious, banks, and indeed customers, should be concerned about the integrity of some of these players.

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While there are large, well-established aggregators, there are also hundreds, if not thousands, of smaller aggregators, many of which are less reputable. I maintain that eventually we are going to learn that one or more of these were never legitimate businesses and that their real intention was to collect usernames and passwords and monetise them in an illegal way.

Another good reason to control and mitigate the bots deployed by third parties and cybercriminals, is that collectively,

Another common issue is complexity due to using too many third-party vendors for cybersecurity, which creates integration issues and is difficult to manage and maintain. This sometimes occurs because the company has opted for bolt-on solutions to solve different problems, which over time translates into a plethora of solutions. Mergers and acquisitions can also lead to IT complexity.

It is also not uncommon to see leadership and cultural challenges within an organisation, which can cause

WHILE THIRD PARTY AGGREGATORS ARE NOT NECESSARILY MALICIOUS, BANKS, AND INDEED CUSTOMERS, SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE INTEGRITY OF SOME OF THESE PLAYERS. they put pressure on and slow down the network for legitimate users, which can harm a business. For example, if customers are applying for a credit card and abandon it due to the website lagging, it›s no different to abandoning a cart on an e-commerce site. By working with a partner to adequately monitor the signals on the site, the bank can shed light on this and gain a greater understanding of the impact of friction on the site.

What other security challenges do banks face?

The key challenge that many banks face is a lack of visibility about what’s happening on their network and across their systems, from bots and hacks to shadow IT, where IT professionals within the organisation may be using their own APIs in an attempt to increase their productivity, but inadvertently create a security vulnerability.

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

security vulnerabilities. We see fiefdoms all the time in enterprises, with a complete lack of communication and cooperation between teams who should be working closely together.

What should banks be doing to mitigate these challenges and improve their security profile?

All these challenges can be addressed.

Banks can rein in complexity by consolidating the number of vendors they work with, and that’s why F5 has a platform offering a full range of protection, covering everything from APIs to bots and WAF all on one platform. Banks can ingest our monitoring and control tools into their own tools to identify and mitigate the bad actors, whether bots or humans.

Meanwhile, to improve the way teams communicate it is imperative to get the right leaders in place and to inculcate a culture of openness and cooperation.

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PARTNER PROFILE

What motivated you to join Backbase as the Regional Director for the Middle East?

Habib Ghanem, Regional Director, Backbase

Time for Action Habib Ghanem, Regional Director, Backbase has a career background steeped in banking and technology, so his thoughts carry weight when assessing regional banking digitisation needs, the scale of the task ahead and the coming trends and techniques in financial technology

C

a n yo u p r ov i d e a brief over view of your professional background and experience in the banking and financial technology industry?

With a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and a Master’s Degree in Global Banking and Finance, I began my banking career

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in the capital markets department, trading equities and fixed income for several banks. I eventually transitioned to the fintech industry in the United Arab Emirates, gaining experience with various vendors over more than a decade. These include Thomson Reuters FXall, FIS Sungard, MSCI, Bottomline TreasuryXpress, and Finastra.

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

My decision to join Backbase as the Regional Director for Business Development in the Region was driven by multiple factors crucial for any successful journey. First and foremost, it was the prospect of having a brilliant and capable team that works together and operates harmoniously towards a common mission: revolutionising the digital space within the banks in the region. Secondly, Backbase offers a state-of-the-art platform that empowers banks to shift away from traditional banking built on legacy systems, which are typically costly to maintain, and instead empower them to focus on the customer and enhance the customer experience. Lastly, the region is in need of modernising banking and the shift from traditional banking is not just a must for financial institutions; it is one of the most critical factors for remaining relevant in a rapidly changing world. It involves harnessing the power of a newgeneration digital banking platform for rapid innovation.

What are some of the biggest challenges of digital banking in this region?

Traditional banks are in an infinite struggle to modernise - but are they winning or losing?

Decades of different technologies and complex system integrations have created tangled webs of outdated, costly and disconnected systems that do not communicate, making it very difficult to meet the changing customer and business requirements. Core banking systems, continually burdened by a stream of ongoing change requests, have grown excessively bloated and complex.

Additionally, the channel solutions, which were initially developed in isolation, have evolved into costly silos that lack awareness of each other, resulting in a lack of synergy between them.

Decomposing and modernising these disparate systems to create customer value has become a formidable challenge, as banks are stuck keeping the lights on rather than delivering actual value.

What’s Backbase strategy for growth and development for the coming years in the region, specifically UAE? Banking in the Middle East is undergoing a digital transformation. Today, businesses are increasingly expecting faster, more streamlined and efficient solutions. And banks are evolving rapidly to support their customers’ growing needs – finetuning existing technologies, as well as exploring how to leverage new, innovative developments. We have observed a growing interest in digitisation within the banking sector in the GCC region and Backbase has been successful in acquiring new adopters to the engagement banking revolution. Banks in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and other areas in the Middle East have chosen Backbase as their digital partner of choice.

The UAE, being one of the most developed and forward-thinking countries in the region, is naturally a main focus for us moving forward. In the years to come, traditional banking will fall behind the curve, making way for digitisation and innovation.

There is a significant paradigm shift towards a new operating model centered around customer engagement orchestration and the banks’ ability to create differentiating value propositions. This shift will further

enhance the banks’ vision to capitalise on this change both locally and internationally.

Backbase plays a pivotal role in freeing banks from outdated legacy systems.

Our white label platform allows banks to gradually replace or decompose disparate legacy systems, so they can build a modern journey orchestration architecture tailored to today’s customer preferences. These powerful yet

a modern digital banking architecture around customers and employees. The key here is leveraging industrialised and composable banking platforms such as Backbase that offer banks a flexible foundation for seamless experiences.

This omnichannel strategy allows banks to establish digital factories, swiftly creating business value, reducing technical debt and boosting ROI on IT

CORE BANKING SYSTEMS, CONTINUALLY BURDENED BY A STREAM OF ONGOING CHANGE REQUESTS, HAVE GROWN EXCESSIVELY BLOATED AND COMPLEX incremental changes eventually add up to a significant transformation – streamlined journeys, eliminated silos and a customercentric organisation. It is not a cookiecutter transformation – we tailor our approach to match the unique pace and priorities of each bank. The end result is a digital transformation that is not just about tech, but about empowering both the customers and bank employees.

What do you think has the potential to be the next big thing in digital banking?

I see the next big thing in digital banking as Progressive Modernisation. It is about gradually replacing outdated systems, reshaping the core and building

investments. Ultimately, it is about fostering agile, customer-centric operations.

How does Backbase enable banks to modernise their digital banking infrastructure?

Backbase empowers both ‘progressive’ and ‘greenfield’ modernisation strategies, seamlessly integrating existing cores with a new, lean core. This approach focuses on creating business value incrementally, steering clear of large-scale disruptions for banks. Achieving successes early helps build confidence and momentum among technical teams. Moreover, by investing in a unified architecture, banks not only reduce technical debt significantly but also drive long-term platform synergies. mea-finance.com

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LEADERSHIP SERIES

Taxing Times

George Hojeige, Group CEO of Virtugroup

While highlighting the impending tax obligations for all businesses in the UAE, George Hojeige Group CEO of Virtugroup explains how they are leading efforts to ensure that startups, SMEs and entrepreneurs are eased into readiness for this important change to the national business landscape

more credibility both as a company and as an economy. Obviously, corporate tax is a worldwide initiative and we’ve often been criticised in this part of the world for not having corporate tax. Well, now we do. So, there’s no more excuse not to come here.

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hy is it important for SMEs and businesses to understand & comply with the new corporate tax regulations?

It’s crucial for them to understand tax regulations and compliance. First, the

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obvious answer is that non-compliance could lead to fines which would be detrimental to a company’s finances.

The second thing is it creates a level playing field when everybody has corporate tax applied. It enhances the national economy and it gives you a lot

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

Who will be affected by Corporate Tax Laws?

Well, that’s an interesting question.

Our survey has showed that 80% of companies here are not sure if they are affected or not. The reality is that every single business that exists is affected by corporate tax laws for a very simple reason. Whether you’re taxable or not, whether you’re in a free zone or you’re not, whether you’ve made transactions or made profits or not, you are actually concerned by the corporate tax law.

So every company, regardless of where they are, regardless of their size, must keep proper books. So aside from proper accounting, they must register for corporate tax and must file their corporate taxes at the end of the year even if they have zero tax to pay. And this is something that we’ve realised that the general public is not aware of.

What prompted Virtuzone to invest over Dh50 million ($13.6 million) in offering free corporate tax and accounting services?

We’ve always been pioneers in the SME entrepreneurship startup sector here in the UAE and we realised that 80% of corporates or small businesses were not aware of what they needed to do for taxation. So we felt that it was our responsibility to go out there and help them get ready for tax as we’ve always done with previous initiatives. And we decided to invest 50 million dirhams to go out and give 10,000 companies, obviously the smaller companies, a tax ready package for absolutely free.

So basically what that encompasses is that we will do their accounting till the

we hope that these companies that we help for free enjoy our services and then we have them as long-term customers and are able to serve them and grow our customer base that way.

WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN PIONEERS IN THE SME ENTREPRENEURSHIP STARTUP SECTOR HERE IN THE UAE AND WE REALISED THAT 80% OF CORPORATES OR SMALL BUSINESSES WERE NOT AWARE OF WHAT THEY NEEDED TO DO FOR TAXATION end of the year, we will register them for tax and we will have them ready to be able to do their books in 2024 in order to file for taxes at the end of that year.

So, it enhances our thought leadership in the market; it enhances our position as the leading agency in helping these SMEs and we’re very happy to do it. Obviously,

How will Virtuzone’s free tax-ready service help SMEs in complying with the new corporate tax rules?

What we’re doing is we’re offering a service where we will do their accounting and their books till the end of 2023. We will register them for tax, and we will have their books absolutely ready to be maintained

in 2024 in order to file taxes at the end of 2024 with the Federal Tax Authority. That will help them to avoid fines and that will help them to be compliant with the actual tax system and with the proper filing of their corporate taxes.

How does Virtuzone’s initiative of offering free tax-ready services align with the government’s efforts to attract foreign direct investment (FDI)?

By facilitating the implementation of the new corporate tax laws and by easing the transition of SMEs that have never had to deal with corporate tax, we hope to make it as a seamless process as possible for companies to transition into that. Doing that we then create a more attractive environment and more attractive economy for FDI which is obviously now governed by corporate tax and levels the playing field once again.

So this is what we’re hoping to do with 10,000 companies and we hope that this is something that’s going to be our contribution to the UAE economy which has been great to us. mea-finance.com

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OPINION PIECE

Approaching the P Event Horizon During an evening with Professor Richard Werner Chairman of Valhalla Network and also known as the Father of Quantitative Easing, he talks with Oscar Wendel from MCH Global, opining that misunderstandings about the nature of CBDCs could lead to their centralising the banking system to an economic point of no return

rofessor Richard Werner, the father of Quantitative Easing (QE), spoke to Oscar Wendel from MCH Global at an event hosted by Fintech Surge and MEA-Finance at the Capital Club. The controversial economist laid out his arguments for opposing the introduction of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and stressed the importance of retaining cash and alternative digital settlements.

To set the scene, Prof. Werner posited that it is a fundamental misunderstanding in mainstream economic theory that interest rates set by Central Banks cause economic growth. “I did the first empirical study to find out how interest rates and economic growth are related, and it turns out, the truth is the opposite of what they tell you; the causation doesn’t run from interest rates to growth or from growth to interest rates. Instead of lower rates leading to higher growth, the truth is high growth leads to high rates, low growth leads to low rates.”

He continued by outlining how the Bank of Japan intentionally orchestrated excessive credit creation in the 1980s, resulting in a bubble and subsequent banking crisis. However, central planners intentionally creating crises is not unique to Japan. Central banks effectively create boom and bust cycles and cause recessions, which results in transfer of ownership by generating bankruptcies and distressed assets.

Following each and every banking and economic crisis, central planners request more authority, arguing that they need additional powers to achieve stable economic conditions. The introduction of CBDCs is a significant step in this push for greater control and central planners’ desire for more power.

The most significant scenario involves banks using this money to purchase ownership rights, notably in the property market. This process is also subsidised

by Basel Capital Adequacy Banking rules.

Professor Richard Werner and Oscar Wendel

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Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

When banks engage in credit creation for assets like property, it leads to the creation of new money, which drives property prices higher. This, in turn, contributes to the occurrence of boomand-bust cycles in the economy.

Prof. Werner highlighted three use-case scenarios related to bank credit creation and its impact on the economy. Firstly, banks create credit for asset purchases, which is not considered part of GDP as it does not add any value. In other words, simply transferring ownership rights does not contribute to economic growth.

Secondly, bank credit is used for GDP transactions. If directed towards consumption, it increases demand and consumer spending. However, it does not increase the quantity of goods and services. This situation often leads to consumer price inflation, which has been prevalent since March 2020.

Thirdly, and most importantly, is when banks create credit for productive business investment to enable the

WHAT WE WILL GET IF WE ALLOW CBDCS IS A SOVIET STYLE ECONOMY implementation of new technologies and creative ideas that enhance productivity and add value to the economy. Key examples are Korea, Taiwan and China, the latter progressing from a Soviet-style economy in recent times.

“What we will get if we allow CBDCs is a Soviet style economy. This is because CBDC is a misnomer. They are trying to confuse people with the acronym, saying the digital aspect is new. We have had Bank Digital Currencies (BDCs) for decades. The digital aspect is nothing new.”

What is new is the centralisation aspect of CBDCs and how they challenge

THE INTRODUCTION OF CBDCS IS A SIGNIFICANT STEP IN THIS PUSH FOR GREATER CONTROL AND CENTRAL PLANNERS’ DESIRE FOR MORE POWER the traditional relationship between banks and central banks. In effect, CBDCs have ushered in a fundamental change whereby individuals now have central bank accounts, breaking the longstanding agreement of central banks serving as “the bank of the banks.”

Prof. Werner argued that CBDCs introduce unfair competition as it allows a central bank, which is akin to a referee in a football match, now decides to participate in the game instead, namely the financial system, and compete directly with commercial banks. This direct competition creates a conflict of interest for central planners who also act as bank regulators. The result has been a consolidation of the banking system, with thousands of banks disappearing over the last few decades, impacting the financial landscape.

“Since the introduction of the youngest major central bank, the ECB, 5,000 banks have disappeared. The Federal Reserve has killed almost 10,000 banks in the last 35 years. That is what they are doing.

They are consolidating the system,” said Prof. Werner.

Introducing CBDCs comes with potential consequences, warned Prof.

Werner. An extreme scenario is that CBDCs ultimately drive traditional banks out of business. Therefore, during the next banking crisis, people could easily shift their funds to the central bank system, leaving traditional banks to “switch off the lights” and effectively cease to exist.

This could lead to a centralised banking system similar to the Soviet Union, which is essentially the dream of central planners.

Therefore, he argues, it is important to have a sufficient number of banks.

The value of small banks lies particularly

in community banks that operate in local areas. He sees local banks as the antidote to European Central Bank’s consolidation efforts resulting in small banks disappearing.

Despite such challenges, banking remains lucrative. “It is now extremely profitable to be a bank because interest margins are now very large. And as a small local bank, banking is one of the most profitable industries,” said Prof. Werner.

Prof. Werner added: “Growth is a necessary condition, in my view, to solve the problems of humanity. Most of our problems are human-made, and they can be solved by people. So, let’s do it. Of course, the monetary system is key. That is a resource allocation tool. We have to understand it and make it transparent so that it really works for our benefit.

“What CBDCs are doing is usurping a parliamentary, democratic prerogative, including essentially fiscal policy, how money is and can be spent. That is a parliamentary budgetary prerogative.

CBDCs will reserve that and hand it over to the central planners. Now, in many countries, central banks are still privately owned. Historically, they have been created by the big banking dynasties, the banking cartel that does not like small banks.

“However, that is exactly what we need to do, to work in the opposite direction. So, while the central planners want to increase their power over our lives, and it is literally not just about the total surveillance and monitoring of where we are, what you want and what you’re spending your money on, it is about this programmability intervention.

And if you do not follow the rules, or you have stepped outside the 15-minute walking distance area, well, your money is not going to work,” concluded Prof. Werner. mea-finance.com

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COVER INTERVIEW

Masters of their Markets In this edition’s cover interview, featuring Nael Mustafa CEO of GFH Partners, he mentions their SWAN approach to investing and details how their global real estate investment strategy is focused on specializing in market sectors that are fundamentally sound, benefiting from long term tailwinds and thus resilient to economic turbulence

A

s an investment bank based in the GCC, what strategies do you follow to ensure growth?

We have to approach this from a group perspective, as our parent company, GFH Financial Group, is a multi-disciplined financial group with alternative investments management as one of its core activities. As a Group, GFH has continuously evolved its strategy and the areas of its operations over the past two decades to grow from the GCC to the US, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Led by GFH Financial Group’s CEO, Mr. Hisham Alrayes, the Group has adopted a dynamic business model and continuously can evolving investment strategy that deliver a solid base of activities which can weather economic turbulence as well as create value for the shareholders. In doing

WE ARE NOT JUST A GCC BASED INVESTMENT MANAGER

Nael Mustafa, CEO of GFH Partners

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Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

so, the Group has expanded over the past two decade into various lines of investment banking and financial services, including commercial banking, property development, education and healthcare. In addition to its core business of investment syndication and management and private equity platforms. In the latter, as mentioned above, we have specifically grown with real estate, being GFH Partners’ area of focus, growing its business in North America significantly over the course of the past 10 years.

The third path to growth has been the continuous monitoring and pursuit of opportunities in response to, or as a result of market conditions or changes in investment fundamentals. We have, for example, expanded our offerings to include debt, structured equity, along with traditional equity investing as a result of attractive lending opportunities globally, as the global interest rate environment changed.

Today, we are a unique financial group with an offering that is diversified, well established and, more importantly, set up for continued growth.

What have been the key highlights of your group real estate activities over the past year?

In the real estate investment management side of our business, which comes under the purview of GFH Partners, a fully owned DIFC regulated asset and investment management business, we have over the past few years been more focused on themes and sectors that are fundamentally sound and benefit from long term tailwinds. The living sector, namely student housing, the medical clinics sector and logistics have seen the bulk of our investments and are where we have expanded our activities through the acquisition of strategic stakes in the likes of SQ Asset Management and Big Sky; both proven and well positioned US-based players in the student housing and medical clinics sectors.

Since January 2023, GFH Partners has completed close to US$800 million worth of transactions with notable new initiatives such as the launch of the US$150 million GCC logistics real estate platform that is inspired by the strong economic growth in the region and more specifically the Saudi 2030 Vision. The platform included the acquisition of warehousing and logistics assets in KSA and the UAE, as well as the acquisition of a logistics-focused REIT manager.

Located in strategic logistics zones and industrial areas in the key cities of Riyadh and Dubai, the portfolio has a mix of light

THESE STRATEGIC MOVES REFLECT OUR THEMATIC INVESTMENT APPROACH AS WELL AS OUR ABILITY TO BE DYNAMIC IN IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR INVESTORS industrial and cold storage facilities, as well as a variety of distribution and warehousing assets that are let to a diversified mix of major companies GFH Partners, in line with the overall GFH Financial Group strategy, expanded its investment offerings into the debt portion of the capital stack in real estate transactions to capitalise on the elevated profit rate environment.

What are your main real estate sectors of concentration and why have you selected them?

Real estate is a huge, broad area, within which we focus on three main themes and their sub-sectors, in addition to opportunistic or real estate debt.

Firstly, logistics. We have deep experience in logistics and currently manage more than US$3 billion of assets globally, with tenants including Michelin, FedEx and Amazon in the US and Europe.

One of our key affiliate vehicles for logistics investments is Roebuck, which is a UK-based, pan-European logistics specialist with more than GBP 1.5 billion of assets under management and more than 100 cumulative assets covering 30 million square feet of area. As mentioned above we have also transacted in GCC logistics as we have capitalised on the region’s emergence as a global logistics hub, particularly as governments invest more heavily in their infrastructure. Markets such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are home to huge strategic logistics zones and transport hubs, offer particularly good prospects and assets supported by strong tenants as major international corporations are drawn to the Gulf.

Another area of focus for us is living.

We are mainly active in the US student housing sector in partnership with our affiliate SQ Asset Management (SQ) which has proven institutional pedigree and is managing capital from investors across the globe. In 2023, we launched our 3 rd series of the student housing program alongside SQ. The sector is benefiting from strong tailwinds that include limited supply in the face of growing demand for student accommodation as a result of limited and slowed development, the rise in university enrollment and the rise in cost for alternative more traditional rental accommodation. Student housing in the US is a severely undersupplied market – about 30,000 beds were delivered in Fall 2022 (the lowest since 2010), which is a trend that looks set to continue over the next two-to-three years. This, coupled with high enrollment figures, has created record-breaking preleasing levels and rental growth rates, allowing for attractive and stable returns. One estimate puts occupancy and rent growth at 96% and 7% respectively for the 2022/23 academic year.

Our third area of focus is healthcare real estate. Fundamentally, healthcare real estate is a consistent stable performer throughout periods of disruption. The demand for medical services remains robust, driven by an aging population and increased healthcare spending.

Since the 1960s, healthcare spending has risen every year in the US and is one of the largest industries in the US, composing 18% of the US GDP, which is vastly higher than most other countries. mea-finance.com

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COVER INTERVIEW

The nature of this market is very much in line with our SWAN (Sleep Well at Night) approach to investing. Similar to dollar cost averaging, SWAN investing focuses on being disciplined by buying lower volatility investments consistently, as opposed to trying to time the market and swing for the fences on high returns.

Through Big Sky, which has more than 130 medical facilities, we have a robust portfolio combining single long lease tenants to act as anchors, as well as multitenants to provide upside from annual lease contracts which function as natural hedge against inflation.

In 2023, we also actively sought new opportunities to expand on our US-based Medical Clinics platform, with a focus on core healthcare tenants and a collection of medical clinics that offer the prospects of above average growth. We have also begun investing in the debt part of the

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ONE OF THE KEY STRENGTHS OF GFH PARTNERS IS ITS ABILITY TO CAPITALISE ON THE SPECIALIST LOCAL KNOWLEDGE OF ITS AFFILIATES transaction capital stack as market conditions have become favorable for such investing. We derive equal or better risk-return profiles from debt as we used to do from equity. In that regard,

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

we offered our investors a $200mm opportunistic fund focused on debt and preferred equity transactions in the US. We plan to offer another similar vehicle in the early part of 2024.

Can you tell us about your DIFC located GFH Partners?

GFH Partners offers institutional and professional clients holistic investment solutions through a variety of products that include funds, separately managed accounts and direct deals. In doing so, we, as explained earlier, employ a thematic approach which focuses on sectors where we have a proven track record, such as logistics, living and healthcare.

In the process of originating, acquiring, managing, monitoring and disposing opportunities, we offer unique real estate investment and asset management

IN THE PROCESS OF ORIGINATING, ACQUIRING, MANAGING, MONITORING AND DISPOSING OPPORTUNITIES, WE OFFER UNIQUE REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT AND ASSET MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS TO OUR INVESTORS solutions to our investors. We do this while leveraging our deep market understanding and disciplined approach to investing.

One of the key strengths of GFH Partners is its ability to capitalise on the specialist local knowledge of its affiliates.

By building strategic partnerships with the

likes of Roebuck, SQ Asset Management and Big Sky, we have been able to expand our footprint globally in line with our longterm vision for the firm.

Further, GFH Partners is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), and its investments and offerings are filed in their respective domiciles,

including with regional regulators such as the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) and the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA), as well as respective global regulators of the investment vehicles, ensuring best practices in line with global investment standards.

We have more than 15 professionals, with around 75 years of combined experience in a broad cross-section of areas. On top of this, we benefit from the support of our parent company, GFH Financial Group, headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain with more than US$18 billion of assets and funds under management from four main activity areas: commercial banking, treasury, investment banking, and propriety & co-investment. mea-finance.com

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WEALTH AND INVESTMENT SUMMIT 2023

The 2023 MEA Finance Wealth and Investment Summit Once again, leaders from the burgeoning regional wealth management sector came together at the exclusive 2023 MEA Finance Annual Wealth & Investment Summit, where current issues, sensitive though essential concerns and the fastmoving developments affecting the planning and growth of individual and family prosperity were enthusiastically debated

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Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

T

he wealth management sector has shown remarkable resilience in adapting to challenging macroeconomic conditions, geopolitical tensions and evolving investor demands. According to Capgemini, “The industry is undergoing a paradigm shift fuelled by changing demographics, generational wealth transfer, the growing influence of millennial high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) and burgeoning digitalisation.”

The French consultancy firm said in its World Wealth Report 2023 that the global

number of HNWI dropped by 3.3% to 21.7 million in 2022, but the Middle East’s HNWI population jumped by 2.8%.

The GCC is undoubtedly a treasure trove for asset and wealth managers.

The region, one of the world’s hotbeds of wealth creation, has seen an acceleration in trends relating to succession planning, alternate investment vehicles, wealth preservation and growing interest in sustainable investing.

GCC countries – the UAE specifically – have built a reputation on the premise of being a safe haven not only for living but also for preserving wealth. The country has established itself as a highly attractive business hub where multinational companies can thrive in fiscally advantageous jurisdictions with favourable corporate tax rates as well as zero wealth and inheritance taxes.

“While countries such as Singapore have set the benchmark in attracting and retaining ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), the UAE and Saudi Arabia are not far behind,” said Henley & Partners.

The initiatives that are being implemented by GCC countries coupled with their unique cultural and economic propositions, make them formidable contenders in this race.

MEA Finance hosted its Wealth M a n a g e m e n t S u m m i t 2 0 23 o n November 9 in Dubai and the exclusive annual forum attracted leading wealth managers and industry experts who

discussed the new trends, opportunities and challenges facing the private banking and wealth management sectors in the region.

Wealth managers are being confronted with the task of balancing the traditional approach to risk management with the need to respond quickly to the global pandemic that has created massive changes to their operating environment.

As emerging segments grow, an increasing number of wealthy individuals consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) to be an important factor in investment decisions. To date, wealth managers’ primary focus has been developing and launching ESG products

SUCCESSION PLANNING IS ON THE AGENDA OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE UAE GOVERNMENT AND MANY OTHER COUNTRIES ACROSS THE REGION BECAUSE FAILURE TO EFFECT SUCCESSION PLANNING, UNFORTUNATELY, COULD HAVE DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES FOR THE LOCAL ECONOMY – Ismael Hajjar, Partner at PwC Middle East

to satisfy the burgeoning demand for sustainable investments.

Family offices are an integral part of a high-end subset of wealth management business in the Middle East. Over the years, they have become increasingly important to the region’s entire financial services industry, not just because of the business potential inherent in their massive AUM, but as evidence of the region’s overall wealth management capabilities.

Succession in the Middle East The great wealth transfer is upon us.

With $8.6 trillion of global high net-worth wealth expected to be transferred from one generation to another between now and 2029, succession is a top priority for wealthy families and their offices.

Moderated by Ismael Hajjar, Partner at PwC Middle East, the succession planning panel - Middle Eastern Succession Planning in a Growing Modern Economy - highlighted that the great wealth transfer is currently underway and is expected to make millennials the richest generation in the Middle East region’s history. However, only a quarter of the region’s HNWIs have adequate succession plans in place.

The discussion had the participation of Nina Auchoybur, Managing Director for mea-finance.com

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GOLD SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSOR

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

the UAE, Ocorian; Tim Searle, Chairman at Globaleye; Tim Denton, Executive Vice President, Head of Wealth Structuring, Habib Bank AG Zurich; Rahul Chopra, Head of Dubai, Senior Executive Officer and Managing Director at Charles Monat Associates; Neelam Verma, Senior Executive Consultant at Secura International and Farzad Billimoria, Head of Private Banking at HSBC. “Succession planning is on the agenda of the legislature of the UAE government and many other countries across the region because failure to effect succession planning, unfortunately, could have disastrous consequences for the local economy,” said Hajjar.

Succession is a true test of the degree or extent to which the transition from one generation of a family to another is managed successfully. It involves the transition of ownership of businesses, property and other assets along with the broader financial concerns of wealthy families, such as philanthropic foundations and art collections.

Auchoybur said GCC economies have gone through rapid growth over the decades, which has led to an accumulation of wealth and complex asset portfolios. Naturally, the emergence of ultra-wealthy enterprising families calls for succession planning solutions.

“We are witnessing a transformation in the traditional family setup across the Gulf region. Enterprising families have increased in size from just 10 people to 50 people. Other cases involve a patriarch who has several wives and different clans are now involved in the family business – which all needs to be addressed,” added Auchoybur.

Navigating estate and succession planning is particularly problematic in the Middle East where large families are more common and many of these relatively younger businesses face succession issues for the first time.

F ro m re g i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t s ’ perspective, Denton said it is comforting to have a toolset, whether trusts, foundations, insurance or other solutions that can help

wealthy families in succession planning.

“There have been many high-profile family disputes across the region, including in the UAE and regional governments do not want this cycle of destruction of family businesses to continue,” he said.

Dubai Centre for Family Businesses opened its doors for business in June 2023 to provide technical and administrative support to ensure smooth generational succession. The Centre, which is under the umbrella of Dubai Chambers, aims to support effective succession planning and contribute to the growth and sustainability of family businesses in the city.

succession planning, it’s about the softer side of banking.”

Billimoria said private banks are the first stage in a succession planning journey as they are the ones that spot and initiate succession opportunities.

He said after identifying succession planning opportunities, private banks are emphasising risk management and governance to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of familyowned businesses.

Chopra concurred with Billimoria, saying that private banks also play the role of advisors in succession planning discussions. “Private banks have client

PUTTING UP A RIGHT INVESTMENT PLAN, TAKING ADVICE FROM LAWYERS, ADVISORS AND BANKERS AS WELL AS CONSIDERING FAMILY MEMBERS IN DECISION MAKING IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN SUCCESSION PLANNING, LEGACY PLANNING AND MAINTAINING SEAMLESS GENERATIONAL WEALTH TRANSFER.” – Neelam Verma, Senior Executive Consultant Secura International

A study by RBC Wealth Management revealed that the biggest obstacles to succession planning are discomfort around discussing the sensitive topic of finances or patriarchs may not be willing to relinquish control of the family business.

Barriers to succession planning include families not knowing how to create a plan or not knowing who is willing and qualified to take over the enterprise. However, wealthy families in the GCC region are adopting protocols to regulate succession, conflict resolution, business valuations and other key issues to preserve wealth and ensure a smooth transition between generations.

From a private banking perspective, Billimoria said, “When we talk about

advisors and there are also independent financial advisors whose role is to provide the right expertise and know-how to navigate complex succession planning propositions,” she added.

G i ve n t h e o u ts i ze d e c o n o m i c contribution of family-run businesses in the GCC, strong family governance is critical for the region’s continued economic success. “Financial wealth in the UAE grew by 20% in 2021; approximately 41% was generated by UHNWIs and family offices and it is forecasted to increase by 46% to reach $1 trillion by 2026,” according to KPMG. “Wealthy families or HNWI typically gets siloed into various aspects. They deal with their banker, the lawyer, the family office, the accountant, the fiduciary and mea-finance.com

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WEALTH AND INVESTMENT SUMMIT 2023

the trustee among others,” Globaleye’s Searle said, adding “as financial advisors, we create a strategy to bring all these elements together.”

Over the years, life insurance and foundations have also emerged as a new asset class for planning succession among wealthy families. Similarly, building a central mission statement based on shared family values can be vital to a sustainable legacy.

Verma said discussing legacy planning and the right kind of investment strategies in family enterprises is of utmost importance. “Putting up a right investment plan, taking advice from lawyers, advisors and bankers as well as considering family members in decision making is the key to success in succession planning, legacy planning and maintaining seamless generational wealth transfer,” she added.

RBC Wealth Management said that a family mission statement is a foundation on which current and future generations can make decisions together, understand their roles and provide a framework to understand what it means to be a member of that family.

To ensure that wealth is preserved and that there is a smooth transition

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between generations, establishing family protocols to regulate succession and conflict resolution is critical.

Thomas Schornstein, Member of the Executive Board and General Manager of MEA at additiv gave a presentation that emphasised the key success factors to grow wealth management business.

Schornstein said private banking and wealth management is a simple business but executing it is super difficult.

ESG & philanthropy in wealth planning The increasingly growing demand for sustainable investing from investors is driving some private banks and wealth management firms to develop sustainable investing strategies as public attention toward the global sustainability agenda is also rising.

The panel discussion around ESG & philanthropy in wealth planning Wealth and Society Today – How ESG & Philanthropy is Changing Regional Wealth Planning - was moderated

by Bhaskar Dasgupta, Independent Board Director and Advisor and Senior Advisor at Sheikh Hamdan Bin Ahmad Al Maktoum Private Office. The panel had

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

the participation of Faisal Hasan, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Asset Management at Al Mal Capital; Rene Van Zyl, Joint Head of Tax and Fiduciary at Investec and Daniel Robinson, Head of Wealth and Personal Banking at HSBC. Dasgupta noted that the GCC region and the wider MENA region have been doing ethical business, setting up charitable foundations and Waqfs for literally hundreds of years.

Today, millennial investors and affluent youths are focused on investment solutions that support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, investments that meet ESG values and climate- and sustainability-focused initiatives such as low-carbon investments. “ Fro m a s u c c es s i o n p l a n n i n g perspective, Investec seeks to invest its clients’ wealth over the long term, so that they can create enduring wealth for their families today, tomorrow, and for the next generation,” said Van Zyl. She noted that ESG integration and philanthropy are two of the most direct ways that the global private bank and wealth management firm lives its purpose and delivers this proposition to its client base. “We strive to preserve and grow clients’ wealth sustainably so that they can reach and live their purpose for their generation,” Van Zyl added.

Meanwhile, the rapid creation of new wealth, priorities on sustainability and a greater awareness of how philanthropy can create a positive impact postpandemic are reinventing traditional approaches to giving.

“Philanthropy, Zakat or charity is the highest risk capital that any client can hold, hence that takes a lot in terms of making investment decisions,” Hasan said while drawing on his 22 years of experience in the Middle East working with charitable institutions, endowments and HNWIs. He further highlighted that HNWIs, and corporates have been moving towards ESG but there are more questions than answers that are being raised in that space as to what constitutes the ESG and

whether ESG should be taken together or should the concept be divided into three terms, E, S and G. H oweve r, t h e n ew g e n e ra t i o n of HNWIs, millennials and Gen Z, are focusing on impactful philanthropical donations, which not only concern them as individuals but encompass issues of global concern such as the environment, climate change, investing in innovative technologies and new resources.

“One thing we cannot ignore, and one thing we should deeply accept is that ESG is more than a feel-good exercise, it’s an exciting opportunity for the banking sector to transform the way it operates,” HSBC’s Robinson said, adding that financial services providers have a vital role to play to accelerate the transformation to a carbon-neutral economy.

Meanwhile, on the older generation the G side of ESG, governance, is starting to become very important with familyowned companies that are well governed and have high ESG scores tending to outperform, driven by lower drawdowns and less systemic risks.

Robinson said sustainability and philanthropy are not new concepts in the wealth and asset management space.

However, what is changing is peoples’ ability or perceived availability of a platform to deliberate on these subjects through their banking relationships.

Wealthy enterprising families in the Middle East are also establishing discretionary mandates that invest primarily in ESG initiatives that are backed by the MSCI ratings. From an asset management perspective, Hasan

WE ARE WITNESSING A TRANSFORMATION IN THE TRADITIONAL FAMILY SETUP ACROSS THE GULF REGION. ENTERPRISING FAMILIES HAVE INCREASED IN SIZE FROM JUST 10 PEOPLE TO 50 PEOPLE. OTHER CASES INVOLVE A PATRIARCH WHO HAS SEVERAL WIVES AND DIFFERENT CLANS ARE NOW INVOLVED IN THE FAMILY BUSINESS – WHICH ALL NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED – Nina Auchoybur, Managing Director for the UAE, Ocorian

said there is a lack of consistency in terms of ESG ratings when considering global allocations and funds. He urged regulators to coordinate and create consistency in ESG ratings while noting that Islamic bonds or Sukuk issued in Indonesia might not be accepted in the GCC market.

Drawing on ESG and philanthropy’s emotional connect, wealthy families are investing or giving to something which has a social cause or sustainability.

Van Zyl concurred with Hasan that regulations mature as the world matures and soon there will be greater demand for industry integration into the investment process.

The World Economic Forum said in January that HNWIs and wealthy families are uniquely positioned to leverage private capital to drive growth in the ESG sector by supporting long-term societal goals and ambitions.

Wealthy individuals and family offices are ideally suited to the kind of approach that the investment theme requires owing to the group’s large pools of capital and multi-generational objectives that support a long-term strategy.

Graham Rowan, Chairman of Beaufort Private Equity gave a presentation on the trends that are redefining the private equity industry. Rowan highlighted some emerging markets such as the Gulf region possess enormous opportunities for private equity funds as high inflation and mea-finance.com

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soaring interest rates have increased debt and debt servicing costs globally.

Safe havens in volatile times

The Safe Havens in Testing Times O p p o r t u n i t i es to F u t u re - P ro of Investment Portfolios panel was moderated by Walid Salem, IT Lead Middle East at Zurich Insurance Company. It had the participation of Ayesha Abbas, Head of Consumer Private Banking and Business Banking for UAE Standard Chartered Bank; Hazem Fouad, Head of Investments Mashreq Private Banking; Saqib Mahmood, Group Chief Commercial Officer, National Bonds Corporation; Faisal Hasan, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Asset Management of Al Mal Capital; Haitham Juma, Unit Head Investment Solutions,

National Bank of Fujairah and Ali Jaffari, Chief Financial Officer at DHF Capital.

Salem opened the panel by highlighting that the impending economic downturns in the US, Europe and China together with high inflation, elevated interest rates and geopolitical tensions, means that asset and wealth managers should identify key economic risks that they need to take into account to ensure that clients’ investment portfolios are safe.

“Global central banks that mimic the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy left their key interest rate unchanged, in the range of 5.25% to 5.50%, earlier in November but global markets are still being confronted by high inflation,” Jaffari said while noting that it is clear that the current level of inflation is far away from the Federal Reserve’s desired target range of 2%.

PHILANTHROPY, ZAKAT OR CHARITY IS THE HIGHEST RISK CAPITAL THAT ANY CLIENT CAN HOLD, HENCE THAT TAKES A LOT IN TERMS OF MAKING INVESTMENT DECISIONS – Faisal Hasan, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Asset Management at Al Mal Capital

Jaffari explained that due to the current economic conditions, a lot of asset classes that were traditionally seen as safe haven asset classes are no longer providing the same level of returns on investment and wealth managers should consider how they can protect clients’ investment portfolios in these turbulent times.

Standard Chartered’s Abbas weighed in saying investors – whether seasoned or startup – always have a place for traditional investment products and alternatives in their portfolios at all times, depending on the spectrum of the investment life cycle or your financial planning life cycle – meaning there is a variety available for different investors.

On whether the UAE and its GCC neighbours are a safe haven for investments, Abbas the structural reforms and national visions such as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, UAE’s Make it in the Emirates and Qatar National Vision 2030 underscores’ leadership’s commitment to double the region’s GDP. She noted that GCC countries, the UAE to be specific, have created ideal investment destinations, driven by the countries’ robust infrastructure, structural reforms, ease of setting up businesses and visa systems that cater specifically to investors.

Mahmood agreed with Abbas the GCC region has a conducive investment environment. “Over the years, there has been a strong capital and wealth inflow into GCC countries, and the growth is being bolstered by the region’s strategic geographical location, political stability, structural reforms such as relaxation of foreign ownership in different industries including banking and real estate,” he said.

The global economy has had four busts in the last 25 years—the dotcom bust in 2000, the 2008 financial crisis, the economic impact of the pandemic in the last three years, fixed income selling off in 2022 and the failure of US and European banks including Credit Suisse Group.

National Bank of Fujairah’s Juma said a spike in inflation over the years was fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic. mea-finance.com

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WEALTH AND INVESTMENT SUMMIT 2023

“The era of ultra-loose monetary policy helped consumers to buy more, but at the same time, it also helped suppliers build more and produce more but the economic environment of the pandemic was different at the height of the pandemic,” Juma observed.

While it is projected to record average growth in 2023, the deepening slump in China’s property market is casting a shadow over global growth prospects, just as monetary tightening increasingly weighs on the demand outlook in the US and Europe.

“While the Federal Reserve and some global central banks have been increasing interest rates to tame inflation, basically they’ve been raising the borrowing costs, and tightening the financial conditions,” Mashreq Private Banking’s Fouad said, adding that as a result consumer spending typically plunges, business investment plummets and economic activity as a whole suffers.

From a risk perspective, Fouad forecasted a global recession next year but highlighted that if the economic slowdown becomes normal, the world might avoid a recession and investment opportunities may emerge in that economy.

Emerging economies are cutting interest rates but developed markets are not reducing their rates so much, so there’s no more synchronisation, Al Mal Capital’s Hasan said, “when you look at emerging market currencies, the currency effect looks much more

benign because the dollar appears to be weakening.”

Overall, inflation has peaked and is being fuelled in part by a broadbased economic slowdown, a plunge in manufacturing and slowing retail sales.

MENA family offices

Moderated by Shadi AlNasr, Principal, Global Family Office for Bank of New York Mellon, the panel - The Growing Role and Requirements of Family Offices in the Middle East - spotlighted the growth of family offices in the Middle East. The panel had the participation of Ismael Hajjar, Partner at PwC; Amer Malik, Head of Middle East International for Lombard Odier and Biju Thomas, Director, Head

GLOBAL CENTRAL BANKS THAT MIMIC THE US FEDERAL RESERVE’S MONETARY POLICY LEFT THEIR KEY INTEREST RATE UNCHANGED, IN THE RANGE OF 5.25% TO 5.50%, EARLIER IN NOVEMBER BUT GLOBAL MARKETS ARE STILL BEING CONFRONTED BY HIGH INFLATION – Ali Jaffari, Chief Financial Officer at DHF Capital

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Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

of Family Office Desk at Mashreq Private Banking.

On the difference between a family business and a single-family office owned by an enterprising family, Mashreq Private Banking’s Thomas said that though the two are held together by the thread of family wealth, they are extremely distinct.

“The difference between a family business and a single-family office is based on ownership and management,” Thomas said, adding that family businesses are run by the family members and range from small and medium enterprises, run into different sectors and across geographies.

He explained that family offices are more like banks’ investment management offices whose objective is to manage wealth on behalf of a wealthy enterprising family.

The demand for family offices in the MENA region is being driven in part by the need for family enterprise structures that have a corporate setup to manage wealth, the growth in the number of wealthier families relocating to the UAE and the transfer of vast wealth between generations.

Lombard Odier’s Malik said whilst the Swiss private banking giant may not be as well-known as some of its larger competitors currently present in the

market, the firm has been serving the region for more than 50 years.

“We do have a very large book of clients directly booked in Switzerland, whose relationships with Lombard Odier go back more than 50 years. We have seen the Middle East and the region’s enterprising families grow and evolve from simplistic investment management towards more complex structures,” added Malik.

Wealthy families across the Middle East are fast approaching a major transition. The shift to the next-generation operating model has increased the use of modern innovative technologies by family office partners, offering a chance to future-proof operations.

Malik said there is a significant influx of wealth coming into the region, especially Dubai, as HNWI and wealthy families are flocking to the Middle East.

On the benefits of establishing standalone family offices, Hajjar identified three themes including professionalisation, family members’ interaction and the changing tax and regulatory requirements in the region in light of the introduction of corporate tax in the UAE. AlNasr weighed in saying the implementation of federal corporate tax in the UAE has acted as an accelerator to help or convince family enterprises

ALTERNATIVES ARE WILD CARDS, NOT THE MAIN GAME. THE MAIN GAME IS TO CASH THE INTEREST, AND CASH AS MUCH OF IT AS YOU CAN IN THE MOST SECURE WAY POSSIBLE FOR 2024 WHILE PUTTING A LITTLE BIT AT RISK IN SOME OF THE ALTERNATIVES – Amer Halawi, Senior Vice President and Head of Research at Al Ramz Capital

to move toward a single or standalone family office. “The benefits go beyond cost saving on the corporate tax to ensure succession and legacy planning.

When some family members want to cash out, a standalone family office could come in handy to help the next generation wealth holders – millennials and Gen Z,” added AlNasr.

Family offices - personal investment vehicles for wealthy families and UHNWIs are a growing force in the Middle East’s financial market. The sector makes up a sizeable proportion of the region’s nonoil economy and in these turbulent times, the need for adaptability and action to ensure that potential isn’t wasted, and the future is secured has never been more paramount.

Investment alternatives With traditional 60/40 portfolios under pressure from changing market and economic conditions, alternatives are emerging as a buffer against volatility.

A survey by US consultancy firm Cerulli Associates in July showed that more financial advisors looking to further diversify their clients are turning to alternative investments after battling downturns in the stock and bond markets over the past three years.

The panel - Investment Alternatives – Where are the best investing results going to come from? - was moderated by Bhaskar Dasgupta, Independent Board Director and Senior Adviser at Sheikh Hamdan Bin Ahmad Al Maktoum Private Office. It had the participation of Amer Halawi, Senior Vice President and Head of Research at Al Ramz Capital; Neelam Verma, Senior Executive Consultant at Secura International; Paul Bryson, Managing Director at Virtugroup and Andrew Hammond, Special Adviser at Beaufort Private Equity.

Drawing examples from market trends and experience with families and funds, Dasgupta said real estate is one of the leading investment alternatives, especially in the Middle East where between 48 to 53% of family wealth is invested in the sector. He further highlighted that cash piles are increasing though a substantial amount of allocators have started to see that there are very good bargains starting to come out into the market.

Th e p a st t h re e ye a rs w i l l b e remembered as some of the worst for mea-finance.com

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WEALTH AND INVESTMENT SUMMIT 2023

a 60/40 portfolio. The 60/40 portfolio strategy proposes that you invest 60 pieces into equity investments and 40 into fixed-income investments.

However, these traditional allocations suffered in 2023 as both stocks and bonds experienced correlated losses.

Portfolios that expanded to include alternative assets such as private credit, private equity and venture capital fared far better during the sell-off.

Halawi started by posing a question to the panellists, “How do we adapt to the current environment of interest rates, we want to cash in the interest, not pay the interest, right?”

“What we, as Al Ramz, have decided to do is to allocate a triple-triple strategy where we say 30% cash, 30% bonds and 30% equities,” Halawi added while noting that the reason behind the investment firm’s “very aggressive” approach is because cash pays 5% a year, bonds in the UAE and the GCC pay between 5 to 8% per year while some stocks - the defensive ones – pay 5 to 10% yield in the UAE. “Alternatives are wild cards, not the main game. The main game is to cash the interest, and cash as much of it as you can in the most secure way possible for 2024 while putting a little bit at risk in some of the alternatives,” said Halawi.

A l t e r n a t i v e i n v e s t m e n t s a re supplemental strategies to traditional longonly positions in stocks, bonds and cash and include investments in hedge funds, private capital, natural resources, real estate and infrastructure. “We have seen people fly to safety, which is where too much cash has been sitting on a lot of investors’ balance sheets. Now, when we talk about cash, there has been a lot of debate about whether investors should consider its growth versus value,” said Verma.

Verma highlighted that a 25 to 30% allocation is still good enough in the current high-interest rate environment, provided the investor knows that it is illiquid, the risk is pretty high, and the valuation is not that easy.

Flows of money moving into alternative investments have slowed down this year,

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defying a predicted boom for funds with portfolios outside traditional stocks and bonds. However, the surge in alternative investments in the Middle East is seen as the beginning of a new wave of growth.

“For 2024, what we are projecting and seeing is particularly portfolio diversification from Gen Z and millennial investors and that it is not as heavily weighted towards traditional asset classes,” said Bryson.

He said that for most Gen Z investors, there is a trend of 20%, 25% and 30% while noting that this segment is also considering traditional asset classes and traditional markets owing to the long-term financial planning that is good for them.

On a granular level of alternatives, Hammond said there is an increase in the development of smart cities and smart towns as well as sustainabilityrelated projects including waste to energy, recycling and the full technology ecosystem to support future real estate developments.

Alternative investments typically have higher fees than traditional investments and capitalise on markets in turmoil.

However, investors should look out for potential risks before investing including loss of a substantial portion of the investment, lack of liquidity, volatility of returns as well as restrictions on

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

transferring interests and potential lack of diversification—which results in even higher risk due to concentration of trading authority when a single advisor is utilised.

Bas Kooijman, CEO and Asset manager of DHF Capital S.A. gave a presentation on portfolio diversification and risk management. Kooijman said portfolio diversification is vital, but risk management is equally important for wealth managers with multiple asset strategies and with higher risk strategies and lower risk strategies, such as physical gold versus the currency market.

Digitalising wealth management The global wealth management industry is evolving, and the Middle East market is no exception. The adoption of AI in the wealth management space is expected to have a significant impact by providing more personalised, datadriven advice in areas such as portfolio optimisation, risk management, fraud detection, tax analysis and even relationship management.

The discussion panel - Technology and Digitisation of Wealth Management – Harmonising New Conveniences with Traditional Service - was anchored

by Safa Bouzidi Leterme, who is the Managing Director of Wealth and Asset Management at Daman Investments. The

panel explored whether new technological innovations in the financial service sector can deliver tailored services and advisory skills that HNWIs receive from premium finance services providers.

It had the participation of Bhaskar Dasgupta, Independent Board Director and Senior Advisor at Sheikh Hamdan Bin Ahmad Al Maktoum Private Office; Owen Young, Managing Director, Regional Head, Affluent & Wealth Management AME and E at Standard Chartered Bank; Zubin Muriya, Executive Director at Julius Baer and Thomas Schornstein, Member of the Executive Board, General Manager MEA at additiv.

As generative artificial intelligence’s (GenAI) capabilities expand, the traditional roles of wealth management and financial advisors may soon become obsolete, paving the way for a new era of customised and intelligent financial solutions.

However, Dasgupta said digitisation when it comes to private wealth has been low.

From a customer experience perspective, Julius Baer’s Muriya said clients should have the inclination to take into consideration the digitisation part of product and service enhancement. However, he cautioned that there is a lot of trust which needs to be gained in this particular line of business for wealthy families and HNWIs to adapt to digitalisation in the wealth management space.

WE DO HAVE A VERY LARGE BOOK OF CLIENTS DIRECTLY BOOKED IN SWITZERLAND, WHOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOMBARD ODIER GO BACK MORE THAN 50 YEARS. WE HAVE SEEN THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE REGION’S ENTERPRISING FAMILIES GROW AND EVOLVE FROM SIMPLISTIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT TOWARDS MORE COMPLEX STRUCTURES – Amer Malik, Head of Middle East International for Lombard Odier

GenAI such as ChatGPT will allow affluent investors and HNWIs to access an incredible amount of information and ask questions in a language that the client is comfortable with and receive answers.

From a global perspective, Schornstein said clients nowadays prefer a 24/7, 360 view of their multiple portfolios digitally while highlighting that as much as 90% of the global banks and asset managers have digitalised their services and products.

However, it remains to be seen whether the GCC financial services sector will adapt swiftly enough to harness the full potential of generative AI and beyond or if it will be left behind in the tech revolution.

Standard Chartered Bank’s Young said the key driver of digitalisation in wealth management is banks’ quest to advance customer service. However, he highlighted that a lot of private banking clients are not interested in digital products and services they prefer working with relationship managers.

The growth of “automated wealth m a n a g e rs” o r Ro b o - a d v i s o rs i s revolutionising wealth management with unprecedented force. Robo-advisors leverage computer algorithms and advanced software to build and manage investment portfolios, making it easier for investors to start planning for their financial goals by providing investment advice at a low cost and with low or no-account minimums.

AI in asset and wealth management can help build capabilities in such areas as managing the daily flood of unstructured data, investment decisionmaking and protecting the office from cybersecurity attacks.

Bankers and technology professionals who attended the ME A Finance Wealth Summit agreed that the wealth management sector in the Middle East is expanding and for wealth managers to generate outsized growth in the future, they need to create a more approachable value proposition for younger investors with fewer liquid assets than older generations. mea-finance.com

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MEA FINANCE AWARDS 2023

MEA Finance Awards 2023

MEA FINANCE 2023 AWARDS

Peak Performance More than 200 top executives and key decision-makers from banks, financial institutions and technology providers were in attendance to receive well deserved recognition for their contributions to the region’s banking and financial markets

T

he MEA Finance Awards, the most prestigious awards and achievement recognition for the region’s banking and financial markets, announced the winners for its 2023 edition at a gala dinner held on the 9th November,203 at The Ritz Carlton Hotel, JBR, Dubai, UAE. The highprofile annual occasion recognises the institutions that are transforming the banking and financial landscape, driving the industry forward and are committed to meeting the evolving demands of consumers.

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The Awards ceremony was attended by over 200 senior leaders from Banking, Finance, Wealth and Investment, Financial Technology and Innovation, Financial Advisory and Service Providers to the financial industry across the Middle East and Africa.

MEA Finance awards are acknowledged by the region’s top banking and finance, fintech, advisory and banking technology companies as the apex of accolades for recognition of achievement in the industry. They benchmark and promote excellence in the industry by highlighting

Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

outstanding performance in banking, finance and the vital service providers to this core economic sector and bring due recognition to institutions that have continued the upwards trajectory of the industry.

A record number of nominations, reflecting the growth of the market in the region, were evaluated by a panel of judges, following which 54 categories were presented and won by a combination of banks and sector related businesses and four individual achievement awards with winners.

The full list of the MEA Finance Awards 2023 winners: Best Mobile Banking Service Implementation – Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Best Islamic Digital Banking Services – Aafaq Islamic Finance Best Online Banking Services – Mashreq Best Digital Transformation Implementation – Emirates NBD and Infosys Finacle Special Achievement in Digital Innovation - Wio Best Instant Payments Platform Provider – Global Software Solutions Group (GSS) Best Instant Payments Platform Implementation – Commercial Bank of Dubai Best Cybersecurity Provider – Dixio Best Reg Tech Solutions Provider – Re/think Best Core Banking Service Provider – Azentio Software Best Banking as a Service Provider – Azqore SA Best Corporate Payments Provider – Xpence Best User Experience – Mashreq Best Digital Transformation Provider – Backbase Best Payments Solutions Provider – ACI Worldwide Best Digital Banking Innovation Implementation – Mashreq

Best Takaful Provider – Salama Islamic Arab Insurance Best Trade Finance Provider – National Bank of Fujairah Best Research and Analysis Firm – Al Ramz Corporation Investment & Development Best Law Firm – KARM Legal Consultants Best Sustainable Finance Initiative – First Abu Dhabi Bank Best Sustainable Finance Initiative in Islamic Banking – Dubai Islamic Bank Best ESG Strategy – First Abu Dhabi Bank Best Real Estate Investment Firm – GFH Financial Group Best Investment Management Firm – Mashreq Private Banking Best Asset Management Firm – EFG Hermes Asset Management Best Brokerage Firm – Al Ramz Corporation Investment & Development Best Sukuk Islamic Fund – Sukuk Income Fund by First Abu Dhabi Bank Best Private Bank in the Middle East – Mashreq Private Banking Best Wealth Management Institution for HNWIs – Emirates NBD

Best Digital Banking Innovation Provider – HPS

Best Overall Wealth Management Service in the Middle East – Standard Chartered Bank

Best Islamic Fintech Solutions Provider – DDCAP Group for Ethos AFP

Best Domestic Private Bank – Mashreq Private Banking

Best Retail Bank - UAE – Emirates NBD Best Retail Bank - Egypt – Banque Misr Best Retail Bank - Bahrain – Al Salam Bank Best Retail Bank – KSA – Banque Saudi Fransi Best Islamic Bank - UAE – Dubai Islamic Bank Best Commercial Bank - UAE – National Bank of Fujairah Fastest Growing International Bank – UAE – Banque Misr Best Global Bank in the Middle East – Standard Chartered Bank Best Neo Bank – Al Maryah Community Bank Best SME Bank – National Bank of Fujairah Best Cash Management Bank – Standard Chartered Bank Best Corporate Treasury In-house Banking Service – ADNOC Best Sukuk Deal of the Year – Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

Best Global Private Bank in the Middle East – HSBC Best Family Office Service – BNY Mellon Best Succession Planning Services – M/HQ Best Foundation Services – M/HQ Best Family Office Platform Provider – BNY Mellon Best Wealth and Investment Technology Provider – additiv Best Digital Innovation and Services in Wealth Management – Mashreq Private Banking Outstanding Leadership Award – Dr. Bernd Van Linder, CEO, Commercial Bank of Dubai Best Technology Executive of the Year for Financial Services – Srinivasan Sampath, Acting Group Chief Technology Officer, First Abu Dhabi Bank Best Technology Leadership Award – Samer Soliman, Chief Executive Officer, Arab Financial Services (AFS) Banker of the Year – Khaled El Bialy, CEO of Banque Misr, UAE mea-finance.com

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AWARDS

Fast Forward

C

ongratulations to all the winners at the MEA Finance Awards 2023, and our sincere gratitude to everyone who supported, nominated for and participated in this year’s awards gala presentation. We trust that you found the event as enjoyable as we did at MEA Finance.

The places served and covered by MEA Finance are in the most part, embarked upon the purposeful development of their financial markets. In many locations we see increasing growth across all sectors of the region’s varied banking sectors as some key centres continue their transformation into global financial hubs.

There are, of course, challenges facing the current global economic landscape which have to be met, as well as evolving regulatory environments too. The regional banking and finance sectors are ably overcoming such hurdles with innovation, smart products and services, the adoption of technology-driven solutions and bold, thoughtful leadership.

This heady mix of positive expansion in business and the uncertainties of the current era are testing the regions financial markets players, and the good news is that these tests are in large part being passed with flying colours. It is in this spirit that MEA Finance is delighted to identify, highlight and celebrate those banks, financial institutions, technology firms, fintechs and service providers that not only navigated the current global challenges but also excelled in the heightened competition of today’s world. Collectively, they have continued to make tangible contributions to the well-being of the region.

Once again, the MEA Finance Awards are a source of well-deserved pride, acknowledging the industry’s sincere and fruitful efforts over the past year.

It is our great privilege to spotlight your achievements and recognise the outstanding contributions that propel the industry forward in our region.

Congratulations once more on your accomplishments. We eagerly anticipate witnessing the continued good works and innovation you will no doubt bring in the coming year.

Nap Estampador Group Commercial Director, MEA Finance

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Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

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MEA FINANCE AWARDS 2023

BEST MOBILE BANKING SERVICE IMPLEMENTATION Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) won the Best Mobile Banking Service Implementation award in the Middle East.

The Best Mobile Banking Service Implementation award was conferred on ADIB in recognition of the Islamic bank’s ongoing commitment to providing customers with cutting-edge digital solutions that enhance their banking experience and meet their evolving needs in an increasingly digital world.

ADIB’s mobile app has prioritised as its leading attribute, the need to offer ease of use and easy access, managing to do so while maintaining necessary standards and safeguards, balanced with minimal documentation whether for account opening, getting financing or making transfers.

The bank has been at the forefront of digital transformation, with approximately 96,000 new customers joining ADIB in H1 2023 and 57% of them opening their accounts digitally. This reflects the growing preference for digital channels among customers and ADIB’s dedication to delivering industry-leading digital capabilities.

BEST ISLAMIC DIGITAL BANKING SERVICES Aafaq Islamic Finance took the Best Islamic Digital Banking Services award.

The Shariah-compliant bank won the award in recognition of its digital transformation journey, which was topped by the launch of its state-ofthe-art mobile app “Aafaq Digital”.

The remarkable fact that no less than 100% of their customers are now onboarded is a sheer testament to their focus on enhancing customer experience with products and services rendered with ease and efficiency, all balanced with determination and anchored by clear leadership.

With “Aafaq Digital,” new customers can now onboard seamlessly while also providing them with a wide range of self-services such as applying for a credit card or personal finance, activating credit cards and setting PIN, blocking or unblocking cards, applying for easy payment plans, check e-statements plus many more options. The mobile app marks a significant stride towards simplifying finances, in line with Aafaq’s mission to ‘to engage our talent to develop innovative solutions, with customers at the core’.

BEST ONLINE BANKING SERVICES Mashreq Bank was honoured with the Best Online Banking Services award in recognition of the bank’s various efforts to deliver creative digital solutions to its customers and clients. The bank stands as the pioneer in the Middle East region, offering an unparalleled suite of term deposit services, which includes book, redeem and amend options digitally in three currencies - AED, USD and GBP, redefining the banking experience for its customers.

The bank’s flexible deposit options allow customers to choose between fixed and unfixed deposits, where if required, the latter can be partially redeemed at no penalty.

Furthermore, customers can experience a “WOW” feeling by visualising the application of preferential interest rates by using a special deal code, providing them with a personalised banking experience.

Mashreq has also enabled the same convenience and personalisation to Islamic banking customers in a Shariah-compliant manner.

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Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

BEST DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IMPLEMENTATION Emirates NBD and Infosys Finacle were picked up the award for the Best Digital Transformation Implementation in the Middle East region.

This award recognised the collaboration between the two entities as Emirates NBD, one of the largest banks in the MENAT region with over 15 million customers and more than $196 billion in assets, consolidated its technology platforms for greater efficiency and scalability.

With Emirates NBD growing organically and through acquisitions, the bank brought every new operation onto the Finacle platform. However, the bank was operating on different versions of Finacle, and the management was keen to bring all these operations on a single version for scalability, agility and standardisation.

The bank reaped multiple benefits from the detailed and well-planned implementation of the latest Finacle core solution. It can now scale rapidly from a single, standardised platform and has multi-lingual/multi-currency capabilities to engage across geographies. Finacle also offers the bank embedded analytics capabilities backed by unique engagement architecture that helps build contextual, personalised experiences across channels and devices.

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DIGITAL INNOVATION The Special Achievement in Digital Innovation award was given to Wio Bank in recognition of the Abu Dhabi-based neobank’s endeavours to drive growth and serve its local community including the country’s citizens, residents and businesses – both SMEs and corporates.

Wio is the first platform bank in the Middle East and offers fully digital innovation to the regional sector with easy banking apps, embedded finance and Banking as a Service (BaaS) capabilities. The digital bank already has a tremendous impact on SME and consumer finance, the digital economy and society at large.

Wio became operational with the launch of its Wio Business in September 2022.

The bank launched its retail banking proposition, Wio Personal, in August to complement its corporate banking offering. A significant part of Wio Bank’s vision is to build key partnerships in the industry.

Through collaborations with key government entities, business setup organisations and fintechs, the bank has created an ecosystem that provides exclusive financial benefits to its customers.

BEST INSTANT PAYMENTS PLATFORM PROVIDER The Best Instant Payments Platform Provider award went to Global Software Solutions Group (GSS). The award was conferred on GSS in honour of the payments services firm’s state-of-the-art platform that covers the entire gamut of the Aani platform’s use cases.

GSS is the only service provider offering true end-to-end solutions for the banks, including P2P, P2B, Aani app support, batch and real-time payments.

The UAE-based company has an agile ethos with a fintech mindset.

The company’s Instant Payments Platform (IPP) is fully enabled to meet the needs of all financial institutions for all use cases. GSS backed two out of six banks in the first pilot phase of the UAE’s National Payment Systems Strategy (NPSS) and they successfully went LIVE. United Arab Bank, Lari Exchange & Al Maryah Community Bank are currently under implementation.

mea-finance.com

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MEA FINANCE AWARDS 2023

BEST INSTANT PAYMENTS PLATFORM IMPLEMENTATION Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) was the recipient of the Best Instant Payments Platform Implementation award in the Middle East region. CBD reported a record 10% growth over the past year on the back of the bank’s state-of-the-art payment technology platforms that have streamlined domestic and international payments across over 20 corridors.

The app provides a simplified and user-friendly interface that allows customers to easily manage their daily banking needs, from opening accounts and applying for loans and cards, to tracking expenses and enjoying exclusive 1,000 ‘buy one get one’ offers across different segments including dining and entertainment.

CBD Mobile App users can access the app using UAE Pass, making CBD the first bank in the country to successfully integrate authentication services on its CBD Mobile App with UAE Pass. With more than 120 services, the mobile banking app is the highest rated in the UAE with a 4.8 rating from over 20,000 users

BEST CYBERSECURITY PROVIDER DiXiO won the Best Cybersecurity Provider in the Middle East. The firm received the award in recognition of its commitment to helping customers achieve the highest levels of cybersecurity through their CSP assessment service, which offers customers comprehensive insights into their security posture and concrete guidance on how to improve.

Over the past year, Dixio performed over 150 SWIFT CSP assessments for different clients including governmental departments, central banks, banks, financial institutions and corporates including Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund Public Investment Fund, Dubai Government - Department of Finance and Alizz Islamic Bank.

The cybersecurity firm’s auditors have excellent knowledge of the Swift CSCF v2022 (& 2023) as they each conduct annual Swift CSCF training. The DiXiO team is experienced in conducting IT Security reviews with every member having a minimum of 15 CSP assessments completed independently.

DiXiO is one of the world’s biggest providers of cloud solutions for financial messaging, with a presence in more than 50 countries and a global workforce of over 50 employees serving the company’s more than 200 customers.

BEST REG TECH SOLUTIONS PROVIDER Rethink was the recipient of the Best Reg Tech Solution Provider award in the Middle East region. The award was given to Rethink in honour of the company’s extensive compliance and regulatory services, Anti-money Laundering (AML) and internal auditing to various categories of institutional clients – both locally and overseas.

The company’s revenue increased by 42% compared to the previous year, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increasing by more than 70%, after surging by over 100% in 2022.

Rethink has led the establishment of close to 150 regulated firms in the Abu Dhabi Global Market and Dubai International Financial Centre. The reg tech firm has also secured 64 compliance outsourcing mandates and 48 finance officer outsourcing mandates.

Similarly, Rethink’s service offering has expanded to include corporate tax, as well as non-executive directorships, with its professionals serving on the boards of large financial institutions

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Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

BEST CORE BANKING SERVICE PROVIDER Azentio Software received the Best Core Banking Service Provider award in the Middle East in recognition of iMAL, the company’s cutting-edge core banking solution that has consistently demonstrated its competence in the financial technology sector.

Azentio ONEBanking’s iMAL is a robust platform that accommodates a wide range of Islamic financial instruments, including Murabaha, Musharaka, Mudaraba, Istisnaa, Ijara and more. It stands as a comprehensive end-to-end core banking system, encompassing the whole spectrum of business verticals. iMAL is compliant with Sharia, AAOIFI, IFSB and IAS standards. The system offers a comprehensive 360-degree customer view and supports the complete transaction lifecycle. The digital banking solution is fostering innovation and allowing for the development of new Islamic financial products.

The system’s flexibility is evident through full parameterisation and flexible profit calculation capabilities to manage multiple pools and products, while providing enterprise-wide data for regulatory reporting and risk management

BEST BANKING AS A SERVICE PROVIDER Azqore SA took the Best Banking as a Service Provider award in the Middle East, in recognition of the company’s commitment to digital transformation in the private banking sector, with more than 70 successful banking migrations since 1992.

Furthermore, Azqore offers its clients the possibility of processing back-office operations from its two Hubs, in Switzerland and Singapore in addition to providing them with an IT platform and a full range of digital banking services and products.

Azqore, which has more than CHF 200 billion assets under management on its platform, is a joint venture between Crédit Agricole Group and Capgemini. The company is an integral part of Crédit Agricole’s outsourcing offering, which covers all the needs of asset managers and private banks, with the support of Amundi Services, Crédit Agricole Titres and CACEIS. Azqore’s r Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) solution provides a comprehensive set of tools, processes and services to fully pilot all banking operations on behalf of clients which could be banks or other financial institutions.

BEST CORPORATE PAYMENTS PROVIDER Xpence won the Best Corporate Payments Provider award, which was presented to the business spend platform in recognition of its complete suite of financial solutions, including prepaid corporate cards, a central company wallet, a streamlined expense management platform and intuitive invoicing with embedded payment links.

With card spending increasing by 10x year-to-date, a staggering 31x growth since its launch in late 2022, Xpence has processed tens of thousands of successful transactions in 35 different currencies and across 59 different countries.

Xpence is the first MENAP expense management platform with embedded business banking services, consistently staying ahead by making spending and payment processes more straightforward, efficient and user-friendly for corporate clients.

The platform’s VISA cards are widely accepted across more than 100 million merchants worldwide. The platform caters to a varied clientele, from agile micro-enterprises to large enterprises.

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BEST USER EXPERIENCE Mashreq was honoured with the Best User Experience award in recognition of the bank’s ‘Salaam Points Program,’ which goes beyond providing financial services but delivers exceptional client experience.

The programme is the bedrock of a bank-wide loyalty initiative that celebrates clients’ entire banking relationship with the institution. Over the past 18 months, Mashreq has embarked on a groundbreaking transformation journey for the redemption of Salaam Points by digitising the entire redemption process.

The revolutionisation of Mashreq’s rewards platform is in line with the bank’s overall digital-first strategy, where it offers digital end-to-end solutions to clients throughout the customer life cycle, right from the point of onboarding to attrition and retention.

The loyalty programme has evolved into a key pillar of customer acquisition, engagement and retention for Mashreq. Mashreq’s portfolio spending has seen a growth of 35% year-on-year, while the redemption rates have increased by over 50% during the same period.

BEST DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PROVIDER Backbase was the recipient of the Best Digital Transformation Provider in the Middle East region. This award recognised the financial technology firm’s Engagement Banking Platform, which enables businesses to modernise their key customer journeys and revamp their operational strategies with the customer at the core.

From customer onboarding to customer servicing, customer loyalty and loan origination, the platform helps financial institutions surpass customers’ expectations in every phase of the customer lifecycle.

Backbase’s approach creates instant value by breaking free from the limitations of legacy IT systems and embracing a new generation engagement banking platform. The platform facilitates the gradual replacement of legacy systems, constructing a modern customer engagement orchestration architecture that revolves around the customer’s needs and preferences.

The company introduced a new digital investing product in October to its platform, empowering financial institutions to provide a comprehensive range of services, including trading, robo advisor and hybrid advisory to their clients.

BEST PAYMENTS SOLUTIONS PROVIDER ACI Worldwide received the Best Payments Solutions Provider award in the Middle East, in recognition of the company’s proven, secure and scalable software solutions that allow corporates, fintechs and financial disruptors to process and manage digital payments, power omni-commerce payments, present and process bill payments and manage fraud and risk.

Founded in 1975, the payments solution provider’s Instant Payment Platform (IPP) is a modular real-time payment solution incorporating card and account-based payments, built on a cloud-native framework, providing microservices and packed with open APIs to facilitate open banking and seamless integration with third-party bank solutions and payment networks.

ACI’s iPP is ISO 20022 ready and is being leveraged as modern central infrastructure by central banks, to drive in-country immediate payment schemes.

The payment solutions support connectivity to account-based 24/7 realtime payment schemes in more than 18 countries including South Africa and Saudi Arabia and the number is set to increase over the next 18 months with the inclusion of the UAE, Tanzania and others mea-finance.com

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MEA FINANCE AWARDS 2023

BEST DIGITAL BANKING INNOVATION IMPLEMENTATION Mashreq received the Best Digital Banking Innovation Implementation award in the Middle East region. The award was given in honour of Flash Cash, an industry-first proposition that provides an instant loan to clients along with the perks of an always-available credit card limit.

The proposition, which is inspired by UAE’s strategy to foster instant payments to transition to a cashless society, is offered through a paperless, zerodocumentation and STP (Straight-Through-Process) digital onboarding journey.

Flash Cash aims to solve the high-interest rate from credit cards and the cumbersome process of a personal loan by offering freedom to consumers to opt for a real-time, paperless proposition with low interest rates.

Customers can opt for Flash Cash with zero paperwork via an STP digital onboarding process that is integrated with Emirates Facial Recognition, AI Etihad Credit Bureau and UAE Funds Transfer System. The proposition offers a digital onboarding process that does not require clients to open a bank account with Mashreq, while still offering the facility of a loan and credit card at attractive rates.

BEST DIGITAL BANKING INNOVATION PROVIDER The Best Digital Banking Innovation Provider award was given to HPS in recognition of the company’s PowerCARD, a comprehensive suite of payment solutions that is used by more than 450 institutions in over 90 countries.

The solutions offered by PowerCARD cover the entire payment value chain by enabling innovative payments through the company’s open platform that allows for the processing of transactions from any channel initiated by any means of payment.

Founded in 1995, HPS provides payment solutions to card processors, financial institutions, retailers, national and regional switches, wallet providers, energy companies, insurance companies and multinational organisations.

BEST ISLAMIC FINTECH SOLUTIONS PROVIDER The Best Islamic Fintech Solution Provider award was given to DDCAP Group. Over the year, DDCAP’s most significant objectives in recent years have been supporting the requirement of banks and financial institutions to significantly improve their operational efficiencies and increase the digitalisation of their processes, services and products.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the company has worked extensively with Islamic banks and financial institutions, proposing and implementing a variety of fintech initiatives designed to eliminate manual processes and deliver end-to-end, seamless financial transaction processing.

This is now further optimised with DDCAP’s ETHOS AFP—a bespoke real-time trade and post-trade services platform that provides 24-hour coverage and operates via a secure web-based portal that delivers an array of benefits and efficiencies while mitigating risks.

The changes in working practices that the market has seen over the last two years, including the continuing pattern of staff working remotely, continue to bring into focus the inefficiencies of numerous financial institutions and have resulted in the considerable and ongoing demand for fintech-enabling solutions.

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BEST RETAIL BANK IN THE UAE Emirates NBD was the recipient of the Best Retail Bank—UAE award. The accolade was presented to the Dubai-based bank in acknowledgement of its contribution to the UAE’s banking sector through a combination of leadership, strategic insights, innovative solutions, exceptional customer service and solid financial performance.

With a UAE customer base of 2.3 million, Emirates NBD is the largest consumer bank in the UAE in terms of revenues and profits. The bank’s profit in the first nine months of 2023 surged by 92% to AED 17.5 billion while its total income increased by 44% to reach AED 32.7 billion.

Emirates NBD continues to leverage customer experience as the key differentiating factor and endeavours to further improve it by focusing on proactive services, enhancing service culture, social listening and embedding customer experience design thinking in the organisation.

The bank’s retail banking and wealth management continues to generate significant low-cost funding for the banking group, with a CASA ratio of 85% of the total liabilities book.

BEST RETAIL BANK- BAHRAIN Al Salam Bank bagged the Best Retail Bank award in Bahrain. The award was conferred on the Islamic lender in recognition of its dedication to innovation including the bank’s in-branch self-service kiosks equipped with biometric and e-KYC authentication technology.

The bank’s competitive edge lies in its unrivalled approach to creating a refined, rewarding and transformative client experience. For the last 15 years, Al Salam Bank has continued to enrich its clients’ experiences and improve their quality of life by providing them with chances to win valuable and diverse prizes through the Danat Savings scheme.

The bank is committed to continuously improving Danat Savings to elevate customers’ banking experience and improve their lives by offering rewards for every BHD 50 they invest in their Danat account.

Last year, Al Salam Bank completed the acquisition of select assets from Ithmaar Holding including the consumer banking business of its subsidiary, Ithmaar Bank, in a deal worth $2.2 billion.

BEST RETAIL BANK – SAUDI ARABIA Banque Saudi Fransi was honoured with the Best Retail Bank award in Saudi Arabia. True to Banque Saudi Fransi’s motto, “Bank of Excellence,” the bank’s service and an array of banking products are backed by imaginative selected programmes such as its Advanced Banking product suite.

The bank unveiled its ESG Framework that places environmental, social and governance practises at the core of its development ambitions and responsibilities in support of the advancement of a sustainable financial sector in the kingdom.

Banque Saudi Fransi issued a $900 million senior unsecured Sukuk in May, further cementing its position in the Islamic financial services market.

Furthermore, the bank has made significant strides in advancing its digital payments as well as online banking channel and mobile banking applications.

Banque Saudi Fransi partnered with Tata Consultancy Services in July to digitise its domestic and international real-time payments processing using TCS BaNCS for Payments. With data centralised and secure in the new system, the bank can pre-validate transactions in real-time

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MEA FINANCE AWARDS 2023 BEST RETAIL BANK - EGYPT Banque Misr was the recipient of the Best Retail Bank award in Egypt. The bank achieved the accolade in recognition of its ability to strike a balance between good service with strong product options and offering a full banking experience based on agility and convenience.

Banque Misr, Egypt’s second-biggest state lender, unveiled several innovative payment solutions to cater to both merchants and customers amid growing demand for digital payments in Egypt and the entire MENA region.

The Egyptian lender’s innovative payment services include online card payment, online request to pay, POS contact and contactless and QR codes via POS, among others. Banque Misr is supporting merchants in the North African country using the simplest onboarding documentation process and encouraging e-commerce merchants to start embedding online payments and facilitating payments to end users.

BEST ISLAMIC BANK - UAE Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) bagged the Best Islamic Bank award in the UAE. The Best Islamic Bank award was given to DIB in recognition of the Shariah-compliant bank’s extensive global footprint—which caters to the bank’s more than five million customers and is supported by a substantial workforce, a network of near to 500 branches spread across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

DIB’s nine-month net profit jumped 17.6% year-on-year AED 4.8 billion from AED 4.1 billion, driven by higher revenues, non-funded income and lower impairment charges. Customer deposits increased to AED 221 billion in the nine months to September 30, up 11.2% YTD with CASA comprising 37% of the banking group’s deposit base.

The bank’s customer-centric focus on digitisation and optimisation has further strengthened its position in the Islamic banking sector and its customers now benefit from enhanced customer journeys and increasingly seamless experiences.

BEST COMMERCIAL BANK - UAE National Bank Fujairah (NBF) received the Best Commercial Bank award in the UAE. Corporate banking at NBF encompasses various industry- and specialisation-focused business segments which service clients across the UAE, offering bespoke solutions with client-centric relationships organised by industry vertical.

The award recognises the bank as the leading financial partner for clients, with expert teams tapping into knowledge across departments to offer personalised professional advice that enables businesses to grow.

NBF’s client-centric approach is typified by the bank’s Knowledge Series.

The bank’s long-running series of knowledge-sharing events provides a platform to deliberate on trends and challenges, to network, or to hear from industry experts from across a range of banking verticals about matters of interest or concern, with the 2023 edition of Knowledge Series exploring the opportunities and implications for businesses following the introduction of corporate tax in the UAE.

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MEA FINANCE AWARDS 2023

FASTEST GROWING INTERNATIONAL BANK IN THE UAE

Banque Misr UAE was honoured with the Fastest Growing International Bank in the UAE award. This award was presented to Banque Misr in recognition of the Egyptian bank’s robust balance sheet, which increased by 153%, net income by 128%, customer deposits by 148%, net interest income by 316% and a capital adequacy ratio of 20% - well above the UAE central bank’s minimum requirement.

Basing their Strategy and Operating Model on three main pillars has been just one key element in their success. These “pillars” are – Business Strategy, including corporate governance, long term growth and value proposition differentiation; Operational Strategy, including effective and efficient process improvement, smooth and secure workflow and an immaculate process and control environment; Transformational Strategy including a major cultural change to suit organisational objectives, a digitalisation and business transformation programme and implementation of agile and lean processes.

BEST GLOBAL BANK IN THE MIDDLE EAST Standard Chartered Bank received the Best Global Bank In the Middle East award in recognition of its unwavering commitment to the region with a presence in several countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Egypt and Iraq.

Standard Chartered’s dedication to the development of the region is evident not only in the bank’s success in the market but also in its determination to contribute to the advancements of communities and its active and significant role in the MENA region’s financial markets.

The bank became the first global bank to purchase its own premises within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in 2006. It signed an MoU with the DIFC in May to collaborate on digital assets, including digital asset custody. Standard Chartered plans to launch digital asset custody services, starting in DIFC and to cater to institutional clients around the world - subject to regulatory approval.

BEST NEOBANK Al Maryah Community Bank (Mbank) walked away with the Best Neobank award. The accolade was conferred upon mBank in recognition of the digital-exclusive bank’s success in onboarding more than 7,000 new customers since launch.

Founded as a specialised community bank serving the local communities (UAE nationals, residents and businesses), the neobank is working with several institutions including the Khalifa Fund and the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development to provide SMEs with tailor-made, convenient and secure banking and financial services while managing their financials more efficiently.

The bank’s Mbank Smart Hubs offers a one-stop platform to access all banking and money management solutions. The smart design of the kiosk reflects the new bank digital concept and banking transformation, providing the customers with convenient, easy, and safe banking services.

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BEST SME BANK National Bank Fujairah (NBF) received the Best SME Bank award. NBF prides itself as the first bank in the UAE to establish a dedicated business banking unit for SMEs in 2003.

The bank’s multi-disciplinary approach and application of core strengths from treasury to trade finance has won the financial institution a reputation as a highly credible and committed partner to companies in the small and mid-market space.

NBF has been committed to lending to SMEs for more than 20 years and has consistently expanded its asset book by providing tailored banking solutions to meet the needs of the SME sector in the country.

Leveraging its deep banking experience and market insight within Fujairah and the UAE, NBF is well-positioned to build lasting relationships with its clients and help them achieve their business goals.

Rated Baa1 / Prime-2 for deposits and A3 for counterparty risk assessment

by Moody’s and BBB / A-2 by SP Global, the bank has 15 branches across the UAE – one of which is an electronic banking service unit.

BEST CASH MANAGEMENT BANK Standard Chartered Bank was presented with the Best Cash Management Bank award in recognition of the global bank’s cash management products and solutions that are thoughtfully designed to help clients maximise control and efficiency over their cash flows and working capital requirements.

From liquidity management supported by a global experience and markets knowledge, collection services that can leverage their widespread network, extensive clearing backed by multi-currency capabilities that are very well placed to provide seamless service and quick funds availability, and comprehensive payments solutions that help businesses to reduce processing costs for both domestic and overseas transactions, Standard Chartered Bank effectively leverages its solid network strength to consistently provide innovative, efficient and effective solutions.

BEST CORPORATE TREASURY INHOUSE BANKING SERVICE ADNOC Group was honoured with the Best Corporate Treasury Inhouse Banking Service award in the Middle East, in recognition of ADNOC Group Treasury Services (AGTS), an ADGM-based international treasury centre that caters for all the treasury requirements of the UAE’s energy company at global level.

Founded in 2022, AGTS developed the inhouse bank model, creating the first ever netting centre in the region. The in-house bank’s activities include centralising cash across all the group’s operating entities, creating a virtual account structure and reduce the need for physical accounts for any of the operating entities and optimising the ERP system to create an automated reconciliation of bank accounts, current accounts with group entities and net-off any intercompany transactions.

AGTS manages funds more than $10 billion at times, ensuring that the in-house continuously meets the group’s financial requirements 24/7 and its investment policies are structured in such a way, that it never falls short of funds.

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MEA FINANCE AWARDS 2023 BEST SUKUK DEAL OF THE YEAR Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) was the recipient of the Best Sukuk Deal Of The Year award in the Middle East region. The Shariah-compliant bank received the award in recognition of its $750 million dollar-denominated additional tier-one (AT1) perpetual Sukuk that was issued in July.

The overwhelming demand for this issuance, which surpassed the initial offer by more than nine times, underscored the immense confidence global investors have in ADIB’s asset quality. The offering attracted more than 240 global and regional investors and was driven by broad demand across three regions, with final allocations of 83% to MENA, 13% to Europe and 4% to Asia.

The Sukuk is listed and actively trades on the London Stock Exchange. The proceeds from the issuance will fuel the bank’s strategic growth plans and fortify its capital base, positioning it for robust expansion opportunities.

BEST TAKAFUL PROVIDER SALAMA Islamic Arab Insurance bagged the Best Takaful Provider award. SALAMA has established a reputation for providing customer-centric product offerings and technology-enabled solutions to wider segments of the UAE market.

With innovative products, commendable business growth, distinctive endto-end policy issuance through WhatsApp for Health and Pet insurance, and easy online access for a wide service range, the Shariah-compliant insurer is contributing significantly to the UAE’s strategic aim to become a global leader in Islamic finance.

SALAMA is well poised to add value to the Takaful industry as its earlier described customer-centric product offerings and technology-enabled solutions accessible to varied market segments, pave the way for better customer experience and sustainable growth.

From a financial perspective, the Islamic insurance firm’s nine-month profit surged by 19% to AED 18.6 million from AED 15.6 million for the corresponding period a year earlier while revenues rose by 21% to AED 824.3 million.

BEST TRADE FINANCE PROVIDER National Bank Fujairah (NBF) was honoured with the Best Trade Finance Provider award in the Middle East region. NBF’s trade financing portfolio contributes to 40% of their revenue and the bank offers commercial banking solutions to 7000+ customers in support of their working capital, capital expenditure requirements, loan requirements and project financing requirements among other services.

With more than two decades of industrial experience, the commercial banking business has evolved over the years to become one of NBF’s fastest-growing segments. The bank has emerged as a sustained partner of UAE businesses, thanks to its partnership advisors who take the time to understand clients’ business requirements.

The bank is extensively investing in innovative technologies and leveraging AI and blockchain-based solutions for letters of credit, document checking and supply chain financing as well as the automation of compliancerelated checks and bills of lading tracking, enabling faster deliveries.

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BEST SUSTAINABLE FINANCE INITIATIVE First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) received the Best Sustainable Finance Initiative award. The accolade was conferred on the Abu Dhabi-based bank in recognition of its sustainable supply chain finance solutions that are aimed at supporting the bank’s customers and clients to achieve sustainability goals by achieving KPIs or goals.

While different companies are making a great deal of effort to achieve these KPIs, each organisation is dependent on its suppliers to reach the desired goals. FAB’s sustainable supply chain finance solutions aim to review, assess and rate the sustainability practices of each supplier and provide incentives for each supplier to improve its sustainability practices.

FAB is partnering with Coriolis Technologies to assess and rate the sustainability rating of each supplier.

The differentiating factor between FAB and other banks in the market is the lead time required to rate each supplier. The lender’s solution enables hundreds of suppliers to be rated within hours while the solutions available in the market take a couple of months on average to rate each supplier.

BEST SUSTAINABLE FINANCE INITIATIVE IN ISLAMIC BANKING Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) was honoured with the Best Sustainable Finance Initiative in Islamic Banking award in recognition of the bank’s sustainable finance framework that was launched in October 2022 to facilitate the financing of green and social initiatives.

DIB is the first UAE Islamic bank to publish a sustainable finance framework.

The framework allows the Shariah-compliant lender to issue green and sustainability-linked Islamic bonds and loans to fund projects in renewable energy, clean transport, green buildings and wastewater management as well as support job creation and affordable housing.

The bank priced its second sustainable Sukuk - a $1 billion 5.5-year senior issue with a profit rate of 4.8% per year - in February 2023. The Islamic bond was oversubscribed more than three times - the largest book size seen for a GCC bank in over a year. The Sukuk was issued in line with DIB’s sustainable finance framework.

BEST ESG STRATEGY First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) walked away with the Best ESG Strategy award.

The award was presented to FAB in recognition of the bank’s unique supply chain finance product that was set up in partnership with the UAE Government’s Department of Finance.

The supply chain finance product allowed healthcare providers to have claims paid immediately post approval by the insurance provider, without waiting until the payment due date, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the programme went live in February 2021, significant claims have been processed. The total value of the claims processed runs into billions of dirhams and several hundred healthcare providers use the solution actively to receive early payment of the invoices.

With the supply chain finance structure in place, post approval of the claim, the insurance provider instructs FAB that the claim is good for payment.

The bank pays the healthcare provider immediately on the same day as the claims are approved by the insurance provider.

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MEA FINANCE AWARDS 2023

BEST RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS FIRM Al Ramz Corporation Investment & Development was honoured with the Best Research and Analysis Firm award in the Middle East region. Al Ramz has traded stock for more than twenty years and revamped its research abilities recently to offer the most thorough investment intelligence to investors, both locally and internationally.

Strategic alliances, notably the joint venture with Saudi Arabia’s Derayah for market making and liquidity provision, and with Dubai Islamic Bank, have become an integral part of the investment firm’s operating model.

The regional expansion and strategic alliances come at a time when the group is investing heavily in cutting-edge technologies to support innovative solutions for clients.

Al Ramz is building a digital trading platform that allows effortless navigation and trading in financial markets, aligning with its continual effort to boost client engagement and satisfaction through innovative solutions. The company reported a net profit of AED 21.6 million for the nine months to September 30, 2023, while revenue reached AED 81.3 million.

BEST LAW FIRM KARM Legal Consultants was the recipient of the Best Law Firm award in the Middle East region in recognition of its contribution to the region’s aspiration to become a global fintech hub.

The law firm prides itself on its ability to bridge the gap between legalese and technical jargon by breaking down complex concepts into simple terms.

KARM understands that the new age technologies such as AI, Web3 and blockchain may operate in a legal vacuum but the organisation’s specialisation in these verticals, allows the law firm to assist clients in finding the right solutions even beyond policy formulation & advocacy.

The legal consultancy firm works with different clients including government bodies, startups and established companies, towards building new enabling laws and regulations through dialogue. KARM has advised five out of 10 global crypto exchanges about the Middle East ecosystem and the firm is a pioneer in this domain.

BEST ASSET MANAGEMENT FIRM EFG Hermes Asset Management ( EFG Hermes) walked away with the Best Asset Management Firm award. EFG Hermes AM has EGP 26 billion in assets under management (AUMs) as of Q2 2023 and one of the highest market shares with regards to local mutual funds across different asset classes, including EGP 13 billion in fixed income and money market, EGP 12 billion in equity and EGP 2 billion in blended mandates.

The Egyptian-based firm has more than 28 years of investment experience in the emerging and frontier markets. Its performance track record and competitive advantage across its different functions help attract new business to the AM division.

EFG-Hermes AM delivered a robust performance in the past year and was able to maintain its track record of beating market averages across different asset classes over longer periods. Equity funds managed by EFGHermes AM achieved returns of 23.3% versus the market average of 18.5% over the past 12 months while our Islamic equity funds achieved returns of 17.5% versus the market average of 14.4% during the period under review.

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BEST REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT FIRM GFH Financial Group was the recipient of the Best Real Estate Investment Firm award in recognition of how the firm has steadily expanded its global footprint over the last two decades—through partnerships, mergers and acquisitions.

GFH launched GFH Partners in June a fully-owned subsidiary focused on expanding the group’s global asset management capabilities with a particular focus on the real estate sector. GFH Partners manages assets in the stabilised and core markets of the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia and UAE, where it aims to capture and capitalise on strong economic growth prospects in these regions.

GFH Partners currently manages over $6 billion of real estate assets as part of the total $18 billion of assets managed by the financial group. Its affiliate in the UK, Roebuck Asset Management, is a pan-European asset management company specialising in UK and European logistics that has transacted over EUR 2.5 billion since its formation in 2009.

Over the years, GFH has transacted over $4 billion in the industrial logistics sector, with assets leased to credit-rated tenants including Amazon, FedEx, General Mills and Michelin.

BEST INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FIRM Mashreq Private Bank received the Best Investment Management Firm award in the Middle East, conferred upon the private bank in recognition of its unique operating model, wherein clients are offered a ‘team-based’ approach to help them manage and grow their wealth.

Throughout the customer experience journey, Mashreq’s focus is on delivering an exceptional interface and, for this purpose, the bank offers an option wherein customers have the ability to take on a hands-on approach and take care of their own investment decisions, while leveraging the insights and expertise that offered by private bank.

Mashreq’s private banking proposition provides tailored financing solutions, which are designed in alignment with the self-directed strategy chosen by investors. The bank is also an expert in real estate financing solutions including mortgages against UAE properties, equity release and lease rental discounting, meaning that whenever our self- directed investors require support.

BEST BROKERAGE FIRM Al Ramz Corporation Investment and Development was honoured with the Best Brokerage Firm award in the Middle East in recognition of their innovative approaches to investment, including staying at the forefront of financial technology adoption to augment efficiency, security and set new standards.

Al Ramz, which has traded stock for more than twenty years, is building a digital trading platform that allows effortless navigation and trading in financial markets, aligning with its continual effort to boost client engagement and satisfaction through innovative solutions.

The investment firm’s strategic alliances, notably the joint venture with Saudi Arabia’s Derayah for market making and liquidity provision, and Dubai Islamic Bank have become an integral part of the investment firm’s operating model.

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MEA FINANCE AWARDS 2023

BEST SUKUK ISLAMIC FUND Sukuk Income Fund by First Abu Bank (FAB) was the recipient of the Best Sukuk Islamic Fund in The Middle East award for its Sukuk Income Fund, which aims to provide attractive levels of income with some prospect of capital gains over the medium term through actively investing in a mix of corporate and sovereign Sukuk.

The fund also allows investments in other Islamic money market instruments, including but not limited to money market instruments, certificates of deposits, collateralised Murabaha, convertible Sukuk, Murabaha deposits, Ijarah and investments in other Islamic collective investment schemes.

With a global footprint across 20 markets, Abu Dhabi-based FAB is the finance and trade gateway to the MENA region and the bank has $323 billion (AED 1.2 trillion) in total assets in the nine months to September 2023.

BEST PRIVATE BANK IN THE MIDDLE EAST Mashreq Private Bank received the Best Private Bank award in the Middle East, in recognition of the bank’s legacy which is defined by its decades of empowering customers in UAE and has consolidated its position with global reach and extensive presence across the Middle East, Europe and Asia Half of the private bank’s diverse client base hails from the Middle East and Mashreq ensures seamless services through its presence in international financial centres in Europe, Asia, Africa and the US. Mashreq has spent years focusing on customer imperatives such as strategic expansion, pioneering new market concepts and consistently launching a variety of unique products and services.

The bank’s ‘team-based’ approach helps manage and grow wealth through access to in-house experts and advisory specialists and the use of a range of technical analysis and charting tools that can empower them to make optimal investment and trading decisions.

BEST WEALTH MANAGEMENT INSTITUTION FOR HNWIs Emirates NBD was the recipient of the Best Wealth Management Institution for HNWIs award, conferred upon the bank in recognition of their comprehensive financial management service including private advisory, real estate solutions and offshore booking and advisory teams certified in ESG. The Dubai-based bank’s bespoke wealth management solutions are devised for clients with specific requirements. It offers high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families and select institutions investment advisory and wealth management solutions through its network of qualified relationship managers and certified investment advisors across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the UK and Singapore. Emirates NBD’s wealth advisors are trained and equipped to provide the best-in-class investment and financial planning solutions, while following a robust in-house approach. The bank has built a full range of service provisions for clients from offshore booking to Lombard lending, discretionary portfolio management to investment and real estate advisory, trade execution and estate planning, among others.

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BEST OVERALL WEALTH MANAGEMENT SERVICE IN THE MIDDLE EAST Standard Chartered Bank received the Best Overall Wealth Management Service in the Middle East award in recognition of its expansive global footprint which uniquely positions it to combine global, regional and local knowledge to best support clients.

The global presence of the bank’s wealth management division empowers its clients in the region to make unbiased investment decisions through transparent processes to curate and discuss diverse insights for more objective advice, combined with open-source access to solutions and access to global leading financial centres.

The accelerating pace of technological innovation is transforming the financial services sector at an exponential pace and Standard Chartered Bank has developed leading wealth management digital capabilities in Africa and the Middle East over the past three years to meet clients’ requirements at their convenience. This includes Online Equity Trading (UAE), SC Shilingi Funds (Kenya) as well as Market Insights on the go and Mobile Trade FX.

BEST DOMESTIC PRIVATE BANK Mashreq Private Bank received the Best Domestic Private Bank award in the Middle East in recognition of its holistic suite of products and services that include access to a full suite of in-house expertise, a whole host of unique privileges and complimentary Solitaire credit and Infinity debit cards.

Mashreq prides itself as a customer-first bank that seeks to ensure that its clients receive the best-in-class services and global products in the most intuitive and seamless manner. To deliver this value proposition, the bank is leveraging innovative technologies while offering clients access to a holistic suite of products and services.

The bank’s proposition provides tailored financing solutions including a Lombard lending program encompassing all investment solutions and trade financing to serve the working capital and business requirements of its clients.

Mashreq has invested in a robust and integrated wealth management platform offering end to end solution for range of Investment products including equities, bonds, mutual funds, certificate of deposits and structured products.

BEST GLOBAL PRIVATE BANK IN THE MIDDLE EAST HSBC was presented with the Best Global Private Bank in the Middle East award in recognition of the bank’s outstanding reputation, extensive global network and exceptional range of services that allows it to consistently deliver a bespoke service and the best outcomes.

HSBC is the first and only private bank worldwide offering a full continuum of client coverage from high net worth (HNW) through to ultra-high net worth (UHNW) both onshore and offshore from the UAE. Last year, HSBC expanded its existing private banking business in the UAE to cater to a growing HNW investor base.

The new private bank caters to the needs of internationally-minded clients with investable assets of over $2 million. HSBC Bank Middle East Global Private Banking clients have access to the bank’s mobile-first capabilities as part of a range of tailored international banking, investment products and services.

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MEA FINANCE AWARDS 2023

BEST FAMILY OFFICE SERVICE BNY Mellon received the Best Family Office Service award in the region, in recognition of the bank’s comprehensive Active Wealth framework, which helps HNWI sustain and build wealth in the shifting market environment.

The bank has built a reputation for helping individuals, families and family offices navigate challenging times and periods of significant changes in the market. BNY Mellon’s Active Wealth approach is grounded in the deep understanding of whom the banks partner with and serve, resulting in high levels of client loyalty and satisfaction.

Active Wealth’s five practices support long-term financial success with the potential to increase wealth accumulation by up to 4.8% on an annualised basis.

With over 50 years of family office expertise, BNY Mellon is the world’s 8th largest asset manager with $2.3 trillion in assets under management. The investment bank’s Regime-Based Asset Allocation (RBAA) provides an objective methodology to incorporate information about macroeconomic conditions into capital markets expectations.

BEST SUCCESSION PLANNING SERVICES M/HQ was the recipient of the Best Succession Planning Services award in the Middle East region. The UAE-based multi-service platform offers a holistic and cross-disciplinary combination of a private client law firm’s specialist expertise and the versatile capabilities of a market-leading fiduciary platform.

With more than 610 family-holding verticals under administration, M/HQ has extensive experience advising both local and international families – whether Muslim or non-Muslim – with Middle East exposure to a broad range of wealth and structuring issues, the gradual involvement of the NextGen and inter-generational legacy planning.

The firm led the lobbying and education effort that influenced the introduction of foundations in the Middle East with an estimated $1 trillion in wealth expected to be transferred to millennials over the next 10 years in the GCC region. M/HQ works closely with UHNW families who are considering establishing or have already established a family office to organise and preserve family assets as well as implement intergenerational wealth transfer strategies.

BEST FOUNDATION SERVICES The Best Foundation Services Provider award went to M/HQ. The award was conferred to M/HQ in recognition of the company’s commitment to the UAE wealth management sector.

The wealth advisory firm supports more than 200 foundations in the country and 184 of the total 420 active ADGM/DIFC foundations, commanding an impressive 44% market share. M/HQ’s extensive experience extends across advising both local and international families, regardless of their Muslim or non-Muslim background, who have a stake in the Middle East.

The advisory firm provides expert guidance on a wide spectrum of wealth and structuring issues, intricacies related to the gradual engagement of the next generation, and meticulous planning for inter-generational legacies.

The firm places particular emphasis on crafting solutions that resonate with the local context, meticulously accounting for Shariah principles to ensure that its client’s values and beliefs are respected and upheld. M/ HQ is known in the market for its unmatched expertise and dedication to facilitating the establishment and success of foundations.

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Banking and Finance news in the MEA market

BEST FAMILY OFFICE PLATFORM PROVIDER BNY Mellon Wealth Management received the Best Family Office Platform Provider award in the region, in recognition of the bank’s Outsourced CIO and Custom Portfolio Solutions whose capabilities include portfolio design, asset allocation, manager research/ selection and trust and custody facilitation.

With over 50 years of family office expertise, BNY Mellon is the world’s 8th largest asset manager with $2.3 trillion in assets under management. The investment bank’s Regime-Based Asset Allocation (RBAA) provides an objective methodology to incorporate information about macroeconomic conditions into capital markets expectations.

Family offices require a nimble and adaptive OCIO partner to help them meet their investing goals and drive sustainable investment outcomes as institutional investing grows ever more complex. BNY Mellon’s expertise ranges from a global, highly collaborative, multi-disciplinary team to seamless end-to-end client experience to sophisticated risk analytics and reporting.

BEST WEALTH AND INVESTMENT TECHNOLOGY PROVIDER additiv was the recipient of the Best Wealth and Investment Technology Company award in the Middle East. The award was conferred to additiv in recognition of the company’s MFund Plus Investment Management Suite which offers end-toend private banking solutions for investment, asset and wealth management.

The Swiss-based global wealth-tech firm offers a wide suite of solutions, from integrating wealth services into existing or new customer channels to enabling companies to embed financial services into their offerings. additiv has made significant strides in the Middle East market with its business model enablement solutions since opening its regional office in Dubai offices in 2020. It provides wealth-as-service related insurance services and collateralised credit and combines all parts within the financial value chain, enabling companies to design and operate contextually rich financial experiences in the right form for each customer at their point of need.

BEST DIGITAL INNOVATION AND SERVICES IN WEALTH MANAGEMENT Mashreq Private Bank walked away with the Best Digital Innovation and Services in Wealth Management award. The Dubai-based bank was conferred with the award in recognition of its wealth management reporting capabilities that provide clients personalised and interactive format.

Mashreq began its digital transformation journey in 2016. The bank digitised its core systems, created value-accretive digital tools for relationship managers and digitised customer journeys. The digitalisation strategy allows relationship managers to better serve their customers while empowering customers to both transact independently due to digital interventions or access their relationship managers.

The bank also joined forces with the Dubai Financial Markets to develop digital capabilities that enabled its clients to subscribe for initial public offerings with/ without leverage or set up a local equities account at their convenience. Mashreq is the only bank in the UAE that offers end-to-end capabilities in the market.

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OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP AWARD Dr. Bernd van Linder

Dr. Bernd van Linder, Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) won the Outstanding Leadership award in the Middle East.

As head of CBD, van Linder is responsible for building the financial institution into one of UAE’s biggest banks with $34.3 billion (AED 126 billion) in total assets as of September 2023. He joined CBD in January 2017 and backed by his profound knowledge of banking and the GCC, has led the bank admirably.

His experience is broad and varied, touching on retail, commercial, corporate and investment banking. His comprehensive view of banking comes from a long career in treasury, risk management and strategic operations—all key aspects of leading an efficient and profitable bank.

Before he was appointed as the chief executive officer at CBD, he built his banking career at ABN AMRO in the Netherlands, continuing on at Saudi Hollandi Bank from 2009 to 2016, eventually becoming CEO. With an MBA in Financial Management from the University of Bradford, and holding a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Utrecht, he ideally equipped to fulfil his vision of CBD becoming ‘default digital’, another aspect of his successful transformation of the CBD into a leading modern bank.

The award was collected by Othman Bin Hendi, Chief Customer and Sustainability Officer on behalf of Dr. Bernd van Linder.

BEST TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES Srinivasan Sampath

Srinivasan Sampath, acting Chief Technology Officer at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) was the recipient of the Best Technology Executive of the Year for Financial Services award.

An Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Sampath has worked in the financial technology space for more than thirty years, the majority of this time at FAB, where he has delivered key integration projects central to digitisation programs covering end-to-end process automation and customer experience.

Sampath, the technology leader, is responsible for FAB’s tech strategy, defining the FAB GT vision - developing a five-year tech evolution strategy that when executed will deliver a fully equipped, agile and future ready bank. He additionally developed the bank’s service monitoring capabilities through advanced monitoring tools – AppDynamics and Thousand Eyes.

The innovation resulted in a year-on-year improvement in service stability (70% reduction in P1/P2 incidents YTD).

Spearheading FAB’s digital ecosystem and the bank’s digitalisation strategy, he has worked closely with businesses on building digital capabilities across channels and enhanced collaboration with external partners including the ADGM and the UAE central bank.

mea-finance.com

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MEA FINANCE AWARDS 2023

BEST TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP AWARD Samer Soliman

Samer Soliman, CEO of Arab Financial Services was presented with the Payments Technology Executive of the Year award in the Middle East. Soliman is a payment, consumer finance and banking veteran, who drives AFS’s digital payments and fintech growth strategy across the Middle East and Africa.

For over three decades, he has worked with some of the biggest names in the financial services sector, having started his career at Citibank followed by twenty-one years in Network International, where he held several key posts including Managing Director of their Middle East business.

Soliman has been at the helm of AFS since 2021 and in his time at the forefront of the business, has already led his team in securing numerous successful deals and partnerships across the region and the wider world, including – selecting Singapore-based Brankas in a partnership bringing their established open finance practices to MENA, entering into a strategic partnership with National Bank of Kuwait and launching prepaid business cards in Bahrain and Oman with Visa.

With the company’s executive team, Soliman is continuing the AFS tradition of pioneering new, smart payment solutions and services to the region, including advancing the company’s financial inclusion efforts.

The award was collected by Rizwan Khan, Head of Acquiring UAE & Oman on behalf of Samer Soliman

BANKER OF THE YEAR Khaled El Bialy

Khaled El Bialy, the CEO of Banque Misr, UAE was the winner of the Banker of the Year award in the Middle East. EL Bialy has 27 years of banking experience under his belt and has served in three geographies – Egypt, the UK, and the UAE. Throughout his career in banking, he has worked for five leading financial institutions including HSBC, Société Arabe Internationale de Banque (SAIB), National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Union National Bank and at Mashreq where his last position was as Executive Senior Vice President.

At the helm of Banque Misr in the UAE for the past four years, Khaled El Bialy has led their business in the country to achieve a series of transformative results, some of which include seeing their balance sheet size increase by 153%, net income by 128%, customer deposits by 148%, net interest income increase by 316% and a Capital Adequacy Ratio of 20%, well above the CBUAE’s minimum requirement.

At this same time and in addition, he has also overseen a digital transformation at the Egyptian based bank, turning it into one of the leading and fastest-growing banks in the Middle East region.

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Banking and Finance news in the MEA market