Ahli United Bank is Gold Sponsor of 9th GCC Banking Conference
Ahli United Bank (AUB) is supporting the upcoming 9th GCC Banking Conference as a Gold sponsor.
The 9th GCC Banking Conference will be held under the patronage of His Highness the Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel & Spa in the Kingdom of Bahrain on March 24-25, 2009.
The event is organised by the Central Bank of Bahrain ‘CBB’ in cooperation with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretariat General, and will convene under the theme: “A New Era in International Banking Practices: Implications for the GCC Markets”.
Topics will focus on the GCC’s regulatory industry and provide participants with the opportunity to debate with regulators on the most topical and significant issues affecting regional markets.
Ahli United Bank GCEO and Managing Director, Mr. Adel El Labban, commented, “We are delighted to be a Gold Sponsor of the 9th GCC Banking Conference, as we fully support the Central Bank of Bahrain in its endeavour to pilot new policies and initiatives that aim at strengthening the financial sector at home and contribute towards a more stable and sustainable regional financial markets,”.
“We are also delighted by the strong presence of high officials from the GCC central banks, as the role of regulatory authorities is crucial in guiding and leading the industry out of these uncertain times. For our part, and like almost any other financial institution during this unprecedented period, AUB is determined to maintain outstanding shareholder value through greater risk and opportunity assessment capabilities and maximum cost efficiencies”.
Headquartered in Bahrain and with over 100 branches in seven countries, Ahli United Bank BSC (AUB) is a leading regional banking group, offering wealth management, retail, corporate, treasury, offshore and private banking services through its operations in Bahrain, subsidiaries in Kuwait, Egypt and the UK and managed associate banks in Qatar, Oman and Iraq.
In 2008, both Standard & Poor's and Fitch rating agencies reaffirmed AUB’s Credit Rating of “A-“(stable) while Capital Intelligence reaffirmed AUB’s rating as A (Stable), the highest ratings accorded to a Bahrain-based bank. The key reasons cited were AUB’s leading commercial position in the Kingdom of Bahrain, better geographic diversification than for regional peers, improving financial performance and strong asset quality.
During 2008, AUB’s robust performance earned it a string of prestigious acclaims, winning the ‘Best Bank in Middle East 2008’ award by Global Finance; ‘Best Bank – Bahrain’ and ‘ Bank of the Year – Bahrain” from Euromoney and The Banker respectively; ‘Best Commercial Bank – Bahrain’ from Asiamoney and ‘Best Foreign Exchange Bank in the Middle East’ and ‘Best Trade Finance Bank in Bahrain” from Global Finance.
The prestigious line-up of speakers at the GCC Banking Conference will feature Sir Howard Davies, Director of the London School of Economics (LSE), Dr. Martin Feldstein, Professor of Economics at Harvard University, and a number of leading experts from international institutions, regulatory agencies, educational institutions, and banking and financial organisations.
Attendees to this influential event include all the Governors of the GCC central banks and monetary agencies, heads of GCC capital markets, and senior bankers from Arab and international financial institutions.
The conference will be divided into 7 plenary sessions over a two day period and will conclude with a regional Governors meeting on the final day of the conference to determine required action and implementation. Further details on the sessions will be announced at a later date.
Interested participants can register on the Conference website www.gcc-bc.com at least seven days prior to the event as on-site registrations will not be taking place.
The GCC Banking Conference has been taking place for over 15 years, and is hosted by each of the Gulf countries in rotation. This year the event will be hosted by Bahrain.
