Investing in technology in the finance industry is now a business imperative. The Gulf IT market is the fastest growing globally with banks representing the largest single vertical in terms of overall IT investment. New and emerging technologies are all beginning to see commercial applications in the finance industry. With the growth of business in the Gulf and the Middle Eastern region, there is an increased involvement and participation of banks. Until and unless the banks do not serve all the purposes of its clients and customers, there is a chance of loosing them over to their competitors and hence reducing their market share.

 

There has been an exponential increase in the advancement of technology in the past 30 years and it will only continue to do so. And therefore, there is a need to implement and maintain technology. With implementation of new methods and processes in technology, there is a need to keep pace with the rapidly changing business environment. As the market is growing extremely saturated, optimizing technology is crucial. This exclusive conference targeted at CIO's/ CTO's and management teams of the Middle East Banking & Financial Services Industry to address the issues that are challenging the banking industry, now and in the future - new technologies, new processes, new client expectations, new and unexpected alliances and ever-growing pressures for greater efficiency and security.

 

Banking Technology Forum 2008, 2 days highly focused program discussing the latest mechanisms and technologies available for the banking and finance industry and outlook for the next years to come. It will also provide a comprehensive platform to foster healthy discussions on the key pressing issues and will give critical insights into the influx of technology that the region has to offer and analyzing the market potential.

 

 

 

Faris Al Saddi, COO, Commercial Bank international

Ghassan Nimer, Deputy Global CIO, Arab bank

Khalid Al Bulaihed, GM-IT, SAGIA

Joerg Pinkernell, Head of payments, ABN AMRO, Netherlands

Khwaja Almas, Head Team-Core Banking Systems, Allied Bank Pakistan

Mohammed Reda Al Faisali, CIO, Commercial Bank of Kuwait

Dragan Pehcevski, Executive Director, Nova Banka

Tim Goddard, Head of Operations & IT, Lloyds TSB

Jacqueline Hijstek, SVP & Head of Operational Risk Management, Rabobank Group

Mehmet Boru, Director Of Alternative Channels, Fortis Bank

 

 

Advisory Panel:

 

Sohrab Dadachanji, Country Head-Basel II Implementation, Standard Chartered Bank

Khawaja Almas, Head User Team-Core banking Software Project, Allied Bank Limited

Mohammed Hanif, Vice President-Information Technology, Gulf Investment Corporation,

C. N. Ram, Head of Information Technology, HDFC Bank

Shahul Hameed, Head of IT Governance, Al Rajhi Bank

Mohammed Reda Al Faisali, Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Bank of Kuwait

Youssef Laban, Chief Operating Officer, Banque Saudi Fransi

Kishore Chawla, Vice President-Consumer Technology, Citigroup

Derek Sham, Head of IT, Emirates Bank

 

 

 

• Analyzing the current impact of technology in the banking industry
• Impact of Basel II on the banking sector and gaining insights on recommendations for its successful implementation
• Exploring the opportunities in cards and payments technologies
• Achieving premium information security and technology, it being the backbone of the financial sector
• Implementing successful Anti-Money laundering technologies
• Attaining branch automation and systems coalition

 

 

CIO, CTO, COO, Presidents/Vice Presidents/Directors/Head/General Manager/Managers of Operations, Information Technology, information Security, Anti Money Laundering, Cards Technology, Consumer Technology, Risk Analysis, Branch Automation, Basel II implementation, Back office Services, Consultants.