The 5th Annual World Islamic Retail Banking Conference began today at the Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai. Islamic banking leaders flew in in for three days of knowledge sharing on latest trends evolving the global Islamic banking sector.
Dubai: The 5th World Islamic Retail Banking Conference commenced today at the Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai. The conference was inaugurated by Asad Batla, Head Consumer Banking Division – Bank Nizwa, the chairman for day one of the conference. Adnan Yousif, President and Chief Executive – Al Baraka Banking Group delivered the keynote speech titled ‘The Changing Retail Banking Landscape.’
The Annual CEO Roundtable, Developing Islamic Retail Banking, Reaching to the Retail Target Segments: Back to Basics, highlighted the basic practices and the potential which Islamic banking offers the global retail banking sector. This dedicated session, moderated by Hussein Al Sayed, Business News Anchor – CNBC Arabia, saw participation from:
Adnan Yousif, President and Chief Executive – Al Baraka Banking Group
Musa A.Shihadeh, Vice Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Jordan Islamic Bank
Wasim Saifi, Chief Executive Officer at Standard Chartered Saadiq Berhad & Global Head, Islamic Consumer Banking, Standard Chartered Bank
Dr. Jamil El Jaroudi, Chief Executive Officer – Bank Nizwa
Irfan Siddiqui, President and Chief Executive Officer – Meezan Bank Ltd.
Sultan Choudhury, Executive Board Director and Managing Director – Islamic Bank of Britain Plc
Moinuddin Malim, Chief Executive Officer at Mashreq Al Islami
In his presentation John Chang, Head of Consumer Banking – Noor Islamic Bank, enlightened the audience on how to achieve total organizational alignment.
This year, renowned Shariah Scholar Sheikh Nizam Yaquby acknowledged the queries of participants during the Annual Open Fatwa Session, which was moderated by Prof. Humayun Dar, Chairman – Edbiz Corporation. Other participating Shariah scholars and experts were, Dr. Muhammad Al-Bashir Muhammad Al-Amine, Group Head of Shairah – Bank Alkhair, Shaykh Haytham Tamim – Shariah Scholar, and Momin Hyat, Shariah Scholar – Manager Shariah Governance and Compliance – Mashreq Al Islami.
R. Lakshmanan, CEO – Sakana Holistic Housing Solutions BSC, focused on the different models used to understand housing finance such as Ijara, Musharaka and Murabaha. Tamás Erni, Managing Partner at LOXON Solutions Ltd, addressed issues pertaining to credit risk origination through IT platform in his presentation.
Presentation from Veripark Gulf, the Premium Silver Sponsor at the conference was conducted by the Engagement Director, Gaith Halabi. Halabi, in his presentation titled, ‘The Innovative Direct Selling for Banking (VeriTouch DSA)’, will elaborate on Veripark’s new technique which determines fast capture of customer information, checks eligibility and provides the best terms using a products calculator.
Imran Samee, Head of Consumer Banking Division at Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam, presented the case study Brunei on Islamic Retail Banking, emphasising on reposition, distribution and risk management issues.
The GURU PANEL focusing on how building brand loyalty and commitment effects the retail banking structure was brainstormed by Retail Heads such as
Abdulrahman Turki, General Manager, Retail Banking – Bahrain Islamic Bank BSC
Amjad Hijazi, Chief Business Officer – Islamic Internation Arab Bank
Imran Samee, Head of Consumer Banking Division at Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam
Tooran Asif, Regional Head of Personal Banking – Mashreq Bank
Asad Batla, Head Consumer Banking Division – Bank Nizwa
Rizwan Ata, Group Head – Islamic Banking, Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Bilal Fiaz, Head of Retail Banking & Branches – Sohar Islamic, Bank Sohar
Sultan Choudhury, Executive Board Director and Managing Director – Islamic Bank of Britain plc, explained the limiting factors for Islamic Retail Banking in newer markets, which was followed by the Case Study on ‘Starting up an Islamic Bank – Challenges and Opportunities’ by Asad Batla, Head Consumer Banking Division – Bank Nizwa.
The first day of the conference marked its closure with a networking reception which will also pave its way to the inauguration of the Global Islamic Finance Awards, hosted by WIRBC and organized by Edbiz Consultancy.
The GIFA Awards will recognize global Islamic peers for their contribution – individuals and institutions in the Islamic finance sector.
Tomorrow, day two of the conference will feature speaker presentations from Standard Chartered Saadiq Berhad, ITS, Bahrain Islamic Bank Bsc, Adastra Business Consulting, Jordan Islamic Bank, Finance Accreditation Agency and Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad and many more.
Highlight of day two will be the GURU PANEL titled, ‘ IT Solution in Islamic Retail Banking Importance of Innovation and trends in Banking Industry’. It will focus on the technological aspects involved in retail banking sector. The Islamic Micro Finance Workshop will be led by Muhammad Ashraf Khan, Executive of Banking Policy and and Regulation, and Development Finance Group – State Bank of Pakistan.
Understanding the need of the industry, WIRBC also featured exhibition opportunities for banking solution providers. Loxon Solutions and ITS participated as Gold Sponsors, Veripark as Premium Silver Sponsor, Mashreq Al Islami as Silver Sponsor, Adastra Business Solutions as Bronze Sponsor, Virtech, GBM and Eiger Trading Advisors as Exhibitors.