Dubai, UAE: Union of Arab Banks (UAB), the apex body of the $4 trillion banking industry in the Arab World, has appointed Dubai-based CS Events, an events management company in the Middle East, as its Exclusive Strategic Partner to co-create, market and deliver its activities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, UAB said the partnership will help the banking sector’s growth as well as strengthen financial inclusion in the coming years.
Arab World’s banking sector’s assets had surpassed the US$4 trillion mark by the end of 2021, representing 136 percent of the Arab World’s GDP, according to a report, Financial Stability Report in Arab Countries for 2022, published by Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), recently.
The banking sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries accounted for 67.8 percent of total assets in the Arab banking sector at the end of last year.
Banks in the UAE continue to hold 22.4 percent share of Arab banking assets at the end of last year, followed by Saudi banks with a market share of 21.7 percent. AMF said, the Arab banking sector had overcome the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic with no significant adverse effects on its financial balance sheets.
Meanwhile, Egyptian banks accounted for 13.6 percent of total Arab banking assets, and Moroccan, Lebanese, and Algerian banks accounted for 4.2 percent, 3.7 percent, and 3.5 percent, respectively.
Despite the success, however, more than 50 percent population in the Middle East and Africa remains unbanked, while financial technology is disrupting the region’s banking and financial sectors – that doubles up the challenges faced by the industry.
The statement said that as the Exclusive Strategic Partner, CS Events will curate strategic events, trainings and marketing program to strengthen UAB’s presence and implement its policies to expand financial inclusion in the region.
“The banking sector in the Arab world is undergoing a digital transformation that is changing the way people bank and avail financial services. We are going to support this transition through carefully crafted events and marketing programs to develop awareness on the new way of banking and in the process, help strengthen the financial inclusion in the Arab World,” said Wissam H Fattouh, Secretary-General of Union of Arab Banks, said.
Nizam Deen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CS Events, said “Over the last few years, we were able to execute some innovative conferences for the banking sector that is undergoing tremendous digital transformation and needs to be highlighted and communicated to the banking fraternity and its customers.”
Established on March 13, 1973, the Union of Arab Banks was created in accordance with its first General Assembly meeting held in Beirut, Lebanon. It has 330 members from the banking industry in 22 Arab countries spread across Asia and African continents.
