The UAE Banks Federation (UBF), a professional body representing 48-member banks operating in the UAE, hosted today (Wednesday, Sep 13, 2017) a joint seminar with S&P Global Ratings, one of the world’s leading providers of credit ratings to discuss the progress of Basel III implementation and explore how the new rules and capital requirements will impact banks in the UAE.
The half-day seminar was held in Abu Dhabi and attended by about 70 senior bankers primarily CFOs and CROs of member banks including UBF Director General and Chairperson of UBF Risk Management committee. Key speakers include top global and regional executives from S&P, led by Alexandre Birry, Managing Director, Head of Analytics and Research, S&P Global Ratings.
“We were pleased to join hands with S&P in hosting this important seminar in Abu Dhabi. Facilitating the exchange of ideas and experiences through dedicated interactive forums is essential to staying abreast of the trends and issues shaping the future of our industry, and we are hopeful this event will enable UBF member banks to gain a better understanding of the challenges associated with implementing Basel III norms and their potential impact on banks” said Mr. Nasser Sarris, Director General of UAE Banks Federation.
Dr. Alexandre Birry, Managing Director, Head of Analytics and Research, S&P Global Ratings, said: “S&P Global Ratings was pleased to co-host this seminar with the UBF. We found the discussions on regulatory reform with senior leaders in the banking industry enriching, enabling us to leverage our global expertise while reinforcing our local knowledge”
The seminar commenced with a global perspective on Basel III and the progress on its adoption across different regions. The seminar highlighted the main findings of the latest Basel III Monitoring Report and discussed the progress made by various regions in adopting the Basel framework, with a particular focus on Europe’s experience in implementing the reforms.
The discussion transitioned to how these global experiences compare with those of the banks in the UAE and the wider region. Giving more attention to the key elements that banks must consider as they approach the new capital adequacy and risk management requirements, especially as the further reforms (sometimes referred to as “Basel IV”) are still expected and may toughen some of the capital requirements.
The next topic was S&P Global Ratings approach to capital analysis and its unique Risk-Adjusted Capital (RAC) framework. S&P also offered an overview of its RAC ratios for banks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in comparison to those for global banks; and also in comparison to the regulatory ratios.
Basel III is a comprehensive set of reform measures, developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk of the global banking sector. The Basel III reform measures aim to improve the banking sector's ability to absorb shocks arising from financial and economic stress, improve risk management and governance, and strengthen banks' transparency and disclosures.