Summit Agenda

OPENING REMARKS BY MASTER OF CEREMONIES

WELCOME ADDRESS BY LEAD SPONSOR

FEATURED FIRESIDE CHAT: GLOBAL INSIGHTS WITH LOCAL CONTEXTS

The Future of Banking: Examining Progress & Innovating for Disruption

• What is the confluence of trends reshaping BFSI in the MENA region? In hindsight, can the pandemic be considered a watershed moment in the evolution of banking?
• Digital-First: Embracing a proactive stance, are banking leaders more adaptive & innovative now in comparison to just a few years ago?
• Are banks in the region rediscovering their creative mojo to keep up with fintechs and other competitors? Can we agree that innovation is making a comeback?
• Adjusting to new realities and landscapes: how to continuously adapt for extended periods of volatility (geopolitical issues, macroeconomic picture)?

FIRESIDE CHAT:

MENA Banking Leadership - An Exploration of New Revenue Engines & Capabilities

• Responding effectively to new Fintech businesses who are using data-driven insights to fuel their newly established growth ventures – how are large-scale MENA banks developing platforms & data assets to monetize and pursue intelligent selling / cross-selling?
• Strategies around building a cloud-native technology stack – how important is innovation & engagement to retaining your client base?
• Setting up profitable Banking-as-a-Service (Baas) offerings combined with a strong data analytics backbone at your banking enterprise – does the ability to scale up and down offer benefits in the region?
• Exploring mutual synergies with eco-system platforms to ensure that your bank has a product offering to fit every need of your customer: insurance risk covers (home, vehicle, life, medical, business) investments, dining, retail, entertainment offerings
• How integral are the adoption of microservices for the success of any modern-day bank?

Moving Beyond Digital Transformation to Build Digital Banking Multichannel Solution Platforms

• Enabling banks in the MENA region to deliver integrated & unified customer experience with transaction functionality
• Provisioning of strong digital enablers required for successful digital transformation of banking products & processes
• How will implementation of your digital banking platforms make an impact with your customer base? Will it result in deeper customer relationships, expanded market share, stronger financial performance?

Next Generation Core Banking Platforms: Transitioning from Closed Systems to Eco-Systems

• Building legacy back-end core banking platforms are often viewed as time-consuming, expensive & uncertain – is it time to rethink a new strategy?
• Next-gen cores represent modularity making transaction management separate to banking business channels with greater configurability
• Making the transition:
  • From downstream to upstream – embedding products at point of search and not point of sale
  • From batch to real-time – on demand data & decisioning for automatic updates
  • From reporting to advanced analytics
  • From perimeter security to a zero-trust security model
  • From one size fits all customized offerings

INTERACTIVE PANEL DISCUSSION:

CxO (CIO/CTO/CDO) PANEL SESSION: Exploiting Capital in the New Economy with Next-Gen Technology Transformation

• Hear it from the experts: how did you bring effective returns across technological transformations at your banking enterprise? Overview of personal experiences & success stories
• How does a CIO/CTO/CDO steer investments that signify a digital-first priority? How to validate business cases that fit the bill? And how does this translate to incremental value to your banking eco-system?
• As a C-suite influencer in the MENA banking industry, what are some of the emerging technology investment trends that you are witnessing as the world around us enters a new period of increased volatility, macroeconomic uncertainty, geopolitical risk and higher inflation? Are there any trends specific to the MENA region that are of particular significance?
• How significant is design-thinking when it comes to designing new product strategy or process re-engineering to adapt to evolving customer perspectives?
• Does the MENA regulatory environment really represent a roadblock to innovation at an enterprise level? Have recent updates allowed for updated technology transformation across your banking enterprise?
• As a C-suite leader, what is your opinion on inspiring a culture of high performance here in the MENA region? From a technology perspective, is the MENA talent engine able to deliver on the promise of qualified candidates?

Reconstructing the User-Experience Paradigm: Going Beyond the Opti-channel World

• 65% of UAE’s population fall under the ‘youth’ category – what can banks do digitally to better serve this segment who are more inclined towards a ‘user-experience’ over luxury
• Seamless customer experience – vertical integration of processes & platforms
• Enhancing UX – collaborate or compete? Understanding what API & BaaS brings to the market
• Is using AR / VR at your bank necessarily the best choice when it comes to better customer experience?
• RPA and AI: Outlining the next steps in the efficiency game for banks to deliver better user experiences

INTERACTIVE PANEL DISCUSSION:

CHIEF DATA/ANALYTICS OFFICER PANEL SESSION: Data in the Digital Era & Powering the Future: Advanced Analytics, RPA & Artificial Intelligence

• Hear it from the experts: what is the secret sauce for a great data strategy that fits a banking enterprise? Are we seeing new in-roads being made in the MENA region?
• Powering a unique digital user experience with data: what are some best practices to bring customized, efficient & low-friction interactions that are protected from cyberthreats with scalable pricing?
• Leveraging in-house enterprise data: can we drive revenue growth by exploiting this asset? What is your opinion on customer demographics & behavior patterns, will unlocking this data help drive new product offerings with improved profitability at your enterprise?
• Does automation only help with task elimination? What is your take on identifying the right opportunities to create unique business values?
• Robotic Process Automation (RPA) often used to automate KYC, AML, compliance & regulatory requirements at MENA banks; how to go about making the connection between legacy & new data within your enterprise systems to bring about more efficiency?
• When it comes to technology infrastructure implementation strategies in the data analytics domain at your banking enterprise, how pivotal is speed & execution? What is your take on the significance of people, culture, capability and mindset?
• Going mainstream with data analytics & mature AI capabilities; what level of stakeholder support is necessary to drive accelerated digitization at scale here in the MENA region?

Getting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Meet the High Expectations of Today's Banking Customers

• Combat bank fraud before it takes place? Harnessing the power of advanced analytics
• Scaling AI capabilities across your enterprise – are challenging market forces driving the need to digitize & innovate?
• Deploying an AI-first strategy as the foundation to deliver better engagement
• Customer experience insights – methods to find areas of improvement

Using Conversational Banking to Transform Customer Experiences

• Enabling human-machine interactions across platforms to service customers – phones, mobile apps, Whatsapp

• Exploring the potential to lower costs, improve operations and accelerate revenue growth
• Understanding the framework to build AI capabilities to scale & tackling the missing enablers
• How to overcome internal compliance, risk and regulatory issues relevant in the Middle East – getting the right AI-powered bots

Cloud Banking: The Game Changer for Next Generation Banking Capabilities

• Driving business innovation with cloud banking – hybrid cloud opportunities for Middle Eastern banks
• Achieving scale, speed and innovation without limits whilst mitigating risk
• Has the ongoing pandemic reshaped immediate priorities at your enterprise? Understanding how leveraging cloud banking will develop a robust business continuity plan

INTERACTIVE PANEL DISCUSSION:

MENA Cards & Payments Innovation Panel Session

• With Statista research earmarking $84 bn. in payments revenue across Middle East & Africa by 2025 representing a very healthy >7% CAGR outpacing regional GDP growth rates, what is your expert advice on capturing a share of this market as a regional bank? Does innovation hold the key to outperform new challengers on the market?
• What has been your personal experience with managing multiple ISO 20022 modernization programs? Looking back, is there something that you would have done differently to optimize?
• Progress update: What’s next in the roll-out for domestic & cross-border payment systems like – SWIFT, GCC RTGS, BUNA, UAE National Instant Payments Platform?
• What’s the best technology toolkit to improve payments innovation, satisfy internal/external stakeholders & meet challenges? Do low-code platforms that are microservices enabled, configurable with real-time analytics & API enablement feature in your wish-list?
• When it comes to taking payments innovation to the next level, does cloud technology help accelerate digital adoption & is it still possible to leverage a PaaS model for reduced costs?
• Does BNPL still resonate with MENA customer sentiment? Does the implied increase in risk and credit market exposure specific to the geography translate to pursuing a different strategy in view of adapting to global market fundamentals?
• Where do payment processors, banks & card issuers fit in; with reference to global Fintechs like Klarna and Techfins like Apple taking each other on with international scale? What does it take to join forces and shift the balance of power in your favor for the years ahead?
• Payments in an omni-channel world, how to meet the evolving demand of customers who are looking to transact with embedded, almost invisible payments functionality in a collaborative environment?

Adel Alrajhi, Acting Head of Retail Banking Group, Alinma Bank

INTERACTIVE PANEL DISCUSSION:

Islamic Banking for a Rapidly Transforming & Economically Stable Digital Economy in the MENA region

• Global Islamic fintech banking market: overview of trends & outlook with a weighted market value of >$3.8 trillion
• Hear it from the experts: how is digital disruption redefining Islamic banking & fintech business in MENA?
• Islamic banking in the MENA region using digital technology platforms – engaging with a rapidly evolving customer base, what are some of the challenges being faced in the industry?
• What is the definition of reaching maturity in the Islamic banking markets? How do regional Islamic banks reinforce their position as leading innovators in financial service offerings?
• Financial inclusion & unlocking Islamic finance with the power of open banking APIs & blockchain – what are some use-cases for digitization & tokenization?
  

LUNCH SPONSOR ADDRESS

OPENING REMARKS BY MASTER OF CEREMONIES

FEATURED FIRESIDE CHAT:

The Digital Imperative for Global Trade Finance

• End to End Trade Digitalization
• Mitigating risks digitally with trade & supply chain resilience
• Treasury management & best practices in an evolving and volatile economy
• Sustainable trade finance development

Embracing Disruption in the MENA Banking Industry

• Digital banks, neobanks, big-tech, fintech, digital lenders, superapps – why does everyone want a slice of the banking & financial services pie?
• How does the ‘Bring It To Me’ economy brought on by the pandemic differ & what digital steroids can help transform your IT platform?
• ‘Banking-as-a-Service’ – knowing that fintechs have limits & pioneering with open banking platforms

INTERACTIVE PANEL DISCUSSION:

Private Banking & Wealth Management: Technology Transformation Redefining the Value Proposition of Modern Relationship Management

• Hear it from the experts: What is the ultimate ‘WealthTech’ business model that might work in the MENA region? How to go about a achieving a low-cost provision model combining distribution and consumer reach with deeply profitable product relationships?
• Using advanced data analytics to deliver personalized recommendations and best-fit user experiences; what are some examples in the MENA wealth management space?
• With digital tools fast becoming the primary channel to access financial products & services, how relevant are privacy & cybersecurity concerns for MENA based investors when it comes to selection of wealth management institutions / banks?
• What shifts in product demand are we seeing in the local market? With digital assets having gone mainstream, will tokenization become more widely adopted to offer niche products to retail investors?
• Are local investors gradually turning out to be less inclined to blindly accept a blanket approach to pricing? Is there increased market pressure for fee transparency and higher-than-usual fees to be justified?
• Will competition from robo-advisers with direct & upfront fee structures eventually outpace traditional wealth management options?

More Data, More Slack: Beat Sluggish Data Processing with Edge Computing

• New tech almost always means processing more data – how to strike the balance with efficiency & response times?
• Is your enterprise going open source? Hybrid & edge strategies for next generation digital banks
• Using edge computing to personalize your product offering – gaining that competitive edge

INTERACTIVE PANEL DISCUSSION:

Powering Intelligent Risk, Compliance, Governance, Fraud & Audit with Digital Modernization & Transformation

• Hear it from the experts: What does it take to digitally transform the holistic risk management process in your banking enterprise which embraces a strong risk culture, bringing better clarity to risk ownership with a consistent and comprehensive challenge process?
• What are some well-defined strategies to obtain buy-in from key stakeholders (C-suite) and influence them on the benefits of digitizing integrated risk management when it comes to cost, flexibility, efficiency and effectiveness?
• Capturing & communicating the returns-on-investment (ROI) from digital transformation: what are some of the best methods to promote compliance & risk as a function and reimagine how the overall business can be supported?
• How can the internal audit function keep up with digital transformation? How are internal audit leaders in the MENA region able to act as change agents to adapt for accelerated transformation for delivery of incremental value for internal/external stakeholders?
• The digital-first audit methodology; at what stage of the maturity curve are various regional financial service providers? How can modern approaches like digitized risk assessments, agile auditing, and dashboard reporting?

Abbas Bou Diab, Executive Director - Head Of Compliance & AML, BLOM Bank Qatar LLC

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) – Revolutionizing Banking with Workforce of the Future

• Delivering a seamless & user-friendly customer on-boarding process – are RPA bots disrupting your enterprise?
• Bridging the gaps between your systems – using RPA on legacy and new data
• Putting the intelligence to work – automating KYC, AML, compliance processes
• Getting RPA systems to just work – reducing costs, turnaround times, manual errors

INTERACTIVE PANEL DISCUSSION:

Retail & Commercial Loans, Mortgages & Lending: Next-Gen Technology Platforms Empowering Digital Transformation & Access to Capital

• Hear it from the experts: What are some types of technology-assisted service efficiencies that we are seeing across products like direct loans, auto loans, project finance, grants, multi-currency loans and home mortgages in the MENA region?
• Is there a direct correlation between technology investments and greater levels of customer/borrower satisfaction? Is 2023 the unique window for new technology implementation to push for digital transformation?
• Progress update on the digital lending market & new fintech players in the MENA market – across what business segments are you seeing competition tighten up? What’s the real game-changer in the local market?
• Digital loan lifecycle management right from origination to disbursal and credit checks to compliance: what are some regulatory roadblocks often seen in the MENA region? Can we adapt to shifting paradigms in order to reduce bottlenecks?

Data Virtualization & Digital Transformation for the MENA Banking Industry

• Blurring the lines between modern data virtualization platforms and container-based platforms – what are some of the latest technology trends that can make an impact for the banking industry?
• Data blending, SQL virtualization, data services modules, cloud data services – digital exchange of financial data in a compliant manner made possible
• Data Lakehouse: Architecture with the best of both worlds – data warehouses & data lakes

Combating New Age Financial Crime Vulnerabilities - Digital Threat Protection

• Anonymity makes bank fraud an attractive option to cyber criminals - how to protect your bank?
• Phishing, infection threats and automatic remote-control threats – delivering authenticated services to your customer base
• Making the right investments in cyber-security technology to prevent ransomware attacks

INTERACTIVE PANEL DISCUSSION:

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, CONTACT CENTERS, LOYALTY MARKETING, PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS & THE METAVERSE PANEL SESSION: Toolkits for Powering Up an Omni-Channel Dominance

• Hear it from the experts: What is the secret to building a business case for CX improvement & technology investment strategy at your banking enterprise? What are some best defined strategies to obtain buy-in from key stakeholders (C-suite) and keep them excited about the impact?
• What is the most effective toolkit to measure CX trends and engagements at your organization today? Are we considering data sets like customer attitude, loyalty, preferences, digital touchpoints and purchasing behavior?
• How to formulate the ‘perfect strategy’ to provide our customers with hyper-personalized experiences at scale, without friction and whilst retaining the ‘human element’?
• As MENA CX & Marketing leaders, how to find the right ‘Metaverse & Web3 strategy’ that would fit your organizational needs & circumstances? Is it just a giant playground or will entering the metaverse early prove itself as training grounds in the virtual banking experience with new marketing & revenue models?
• Pioneering the right approach to leveraging customer data; can we use predictive analytics in real-time to spot local market trends, predict demand & business outcomes?
• Multichannel marketing hubs – what would you classify as a mature implementation and in your personal experience, how effective is targeting and response in the MENA region?
• What are some low-hanging fruit when it comes to products that make the biggest impact on the bottom-line? Will omni-channel strategies work with personal finance apps, digital on-boarding, chatbots, machine learning based offerings & digital feedback tools?

Codin Caragea, Chief Manager, Head of Customer Experience, Bank Muscat

Digitally Transforming Your Banking Enterprise Using Agile Development, Hybrid Cloud Environments & Innovative Integrated Platform Strategies

• How to go about transforming outdated & highly complex legacy systems? And how to showcase the quickest business value from cloud investments to gain stakeholder confidence?
• Learning to start small, leveraging repeatable development patterns across technology stacks to turn a few improvements to significant business milestones
• Monetizing innovation at the core of your enterprise - how to transform by applying core design principles using multi-platform architecture

INTERACTIVE PANEL DISCUSSION:

CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER (CISO) PANEL SESSION: Exploring the Holistic Approach to Combatting Threats & Vulnerability

• Hear it from the experts: how to go about communicating the strategic imperative of cybersecurity; are metrics delivering the real story with merely data and no context?
• What are some of the best use-cases to build a ransomware defense strategy for enterprise resilience whilst keeping pace with digital innovation in the banking industry?
• What is your opinion on the increase in SaaS application adoption at your banking enterprise? Are there weaknesses in the network security architecture that can be improved to remove the threat of exploits?
• In today’s era of remote/hybrid work, how to develop an effective strategy to remove vulnerabilities & network security threats? What are some use-cases around BYOD that have proven to be effective that can be combined with modern work applications?
• When it comes to network security services, what are some of the best examples for the MENA banking environment? Can we improve speed & agility for converging services and secure cloud access environments? Does Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) play an important role?
• What role does identity management play as the new security parameter on applications, software, cloud-native products, IoT and mobility? Does the vendor landscape offer any solutions to level up against the security threat presented?
• What is your opinion on Machine Identity Management (MIM) and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)? Are these effective tools to combat some of the latest hacks witnessed in the MENA banking context?
• What in your opinion as CISO is the secret sauce for an effective strategy deployment in a MENA context? Is playing offense still the best defense? And are the terms of engagement often negotiable to drive value proposition across the enterprise to safeguard assets?
• What are some unique trends being witnessed exclusively in the MENA region when it comes to cybercrime in the financial services industry? Are we looking at a broad spectrum of fraud and attacks across services and communication channels?

Abhishek Pratap Singh, Head of Information Security Governance and Risk, Bank Muscat