LONDON: The London-based Arab Bankers Association held its annual gala dinner on Thursday at the capital’s Carlton Tower Jumeirah.
The biggest event on the association’s calendar, it gathered nearly 240 leaders from the UK and Arab world’s private and public financial sectors.
Founded in 1980, ABA aims to foster relations, information sharing and understanding between Arab and British financial sectors through its programs, training sessions and events on topical issues.
The organization has cultivated a prestigious corporate network, with Morgan Stanley, HSBC and the London branches of Riyad Bank, Emirates NBD and Qatar National Bank as members.
People interested in serving members as lawyers, valuers or consultants will find it an attractive space to be involved with, ABA CEO George Kanaan told Arab News.
The evening began with a keynote address from Nadhim Zahawi, chairman of the UK’s Conservative Party.
The British-Iraqi politician laid out the government’s vision of private-sector growth by capitalizing on the opportunities presented by a new post-Brexit legal regime, stating: “We want everyone in this room to be enthusiastic about investing in the United Kingdom.
The highlight of the night was the crowning of National Bank of Kuwait Deputy Group CEO Shaikha Al-Bahar for the annual ABA “Award for Distinguished Service to Arab Banking.”
Al-Bahar, the award’s first female recipient, boasts an impressive career at NBK. Throughout her nine-year tenure as chief of Kuwait’s largest bank, where she was instrumental in developing its corporate side of the business, the Harvard alumna has been a leading advocate for digitalization, gender equality and socially responsible profitability.
“A real leader knows how to drive change,” Al-Baha said on accepting her award. “I’m committed to creating greater boardroom diversity, taking opportunities and actions to change the status quo.”
“I also realized the female representation in our managerial and executive team does not reflect the pool of talent that we have,” she said.
Al-Bahar sponsors and manages NBK RISE, a first-of-its-kind global women leadership initiative “designed by women for women” launched in October. The nine-month program gathers female leaders from across the globe to share their experiences and collaborate with world-renowned universities to learn leadership techniques.
“Leaving a footprint has always been my purpose as I continue to play a key role in shaping the group’s strategic vision and direction,” she said.
Kanaan describes banking as the business of taking risks, “and the menu of risks is ever increasing.”
Banks are being tested against soaring energy prices, inflationary pressures and an increasingly volatile geopolitical climate. This has also forged the way for them to tap into new markets, business models and revenue streams.
Although the circumstances differ for institutions in the Arab world’s energy-rich GCC states and those in the more vulnerable oil-importing countries, Kanaan said that both groups were not showing any sign of weakness.
“The Egyptian banks are in a very sound shape, irrespective of whether the country itself is actually suffering,” he said.
“The Arab Bank, for example in Jordan, is also extremely sound, albeit perhaps the Jordanian economy is not as strong as it could be,” Kanaan said.
Lebanese ambassador to the UK, Rami Mortada, told Arab News: “It’s a very global volatile situation. Banks in the Levant region are no exception, especially with food security and energy prices, but they try to cope with a very difficult situation.
“Their footprint in London is very powerful and the UK market is not to be missed, they’re all resilient and doing well against all odds.”
Competition is also intensifying and changing in nature, yet there is a synergetic air in Carlton’s ballroom where corporates sat side by side and celebrated Al-Bahar’s achievements. Are they adversaries or allies?
Sir William Russell, former lord mayor of the City of London offered his insight to Arab News.
“Even though many banks are in competition with each other, they also have good values and competition means that they can continue to compete on price or service, but at the end of the day I think we’re all friends in the same room trying to get to the same place, to be doing the right thing.”
“Competition is healthy, but it seems to me in the Arab world no one takes it too far that it becomes an ugly situation.”
