Banks attending The Asian Banker’s inaugural GCC International Advisory Group Meeting on Banking Risk and Resilience identify the need for stronger boards and clearer regulations as key issues.
February 21, 2014 | Farrah BrakeThe Asian Banker convened the inaugural GCC International Advisory Group Meeting on Banking Risk and Resilience on January 16, 2014 in Abu Dhabi to discuss the need for a regional cross border risk management and corporate governance infrastructure.
The advisory group comprised Bill Isaac, the former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Christian Hunt, chief operating officer at Prudential Regulation Authority, Bank of England, Cathy Lemieux, executive vice president of supervision & regulation at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and Yasuto Watanabe, director of international financial markets at the Financial Services Agency, Japan. On their visit to the GCC, the advisory group also met with UAE central bank officials. The advisory group meeting was attended by 40 Gulf risk officials from the six GCC countries.
QE tapering not a concern for banks in the region
International dialogue participants were hand-picked from a cross-section of players and influencers from around the world, taking part in multiple panellist sessions, contributing to a holistic view of the issues and opportunities created by the progress of the banking industry taking place in the GCC today.
With the US Federal Reserve reducing its tapering and Quantitative Easing Programme, many emerging markets such as South Africa and India have witnessed large capital outflows. However, this is not the case for the GCC countries as they are largely exporters of credit; Bahrain and the Emirate of Dubai are the exceptions. However, going into 2014, they are in a better financial position to reduce credit exposure. Large scale projects in the region are mainly funded out of government surpluses; there is less reliance on the banking system.
Reducing lending concentration is a major focus for GCC banks as they look to diversify their balance sheets. During the recent financial crisis, banks were reluctant to extend credit which l...
Categories:
Capital & Strategic Issues, Operational Risk, Regulation, Risk and RegulationKeywords:GCC, William Isaac, FDIC, Christian Hunt, PRA UK, Cathy Lemieux, Federal Reserve Bank Of Chicago, Yasuto Watanabe, FSA Japan, US Fed
