UAE Banks Federation (UBF) is leading the UAE banking industrys commitment to Emiratisation, having brought together all 52 member banks to guarantee they are lined up with National Agenda 2021 to build up with Emiratisation, especially in the private sector. UBFs quarterly CEOs Advisory Council meeting was held yesterday and Chaired by H.E. AbdulAziz Al Ghurair, and witnessed the banking industry collectively collaborate to accelerate endeavors to further develop the skills of UAE nationals and increase their recruitment in vital managerial and leadership positions across the sector.

H.E. AbdulAziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of UAE Banks Federation, stated: The banking industry is a key mainstay of the UAE economy, and is assuming a significant role in guarantying the nation successfully delivers on the Emiratisation-related objectives of UAE Vision 2021. There is an abundance of smart, talented, and creative UAE nationals in this country, and we have a collective responsibility to foster and nurture them to reach their greatest potential and provide them with the opportunities they deserve. We have laid the groundwork for them to thrive in the banking sector, and I have no doubt that they will fulfill their aspirations and be the driving force behind the countrys future success and prosperity.

UBF also announced that for the first time it will strategically partner with Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) for the upcoming FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival between 21 23 October 2019. This years edition will be one of the largest FinTech events, hosting thousands of participants for three days of engaging discussions and interactive sessions.

Commenting on UBFs strategic partnership with ADGM, H.E. AbdulAziz Al Ghurair, said: The UAE banking sector is making huge strides towards the adoption of cutting-edge fintech like artificial intelligence, automation, and cognitive computing, and we are a strong advocate for this disruption across the industry. The upcoming FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival will be a fantastic platform to engage in productive discussions around these key topics, and we are delighted to be part of it and solidify our support through this strategic partnership.

Trust Index and Evaluation Survey

UBF recently partnered with leading research providers to conduct two surveys: Trust Index and UBF Evaluation Survey. The Trust Index was an idea collaboratively generated by UBFs marketing committee to track the level of trust amongst customers in the UAEs banking sector. This years Index showed that:

Overall impression of the UAE banking industry improved considerably in 2018 from 2017.
UAE banks are meeting customer expectations, particularly in providing one-stop solutions to manage their clients finances.
UAE banks are well equipped to deal with a variety of issues in the sector.
UAE banks are consistently providing investors with good returns and contributing to strong economic development.

UBFs Evaluation Survey assesses what its members and stakeholders think of its performance. The recent results show marked improvements from last year, with the unsatisfied stakeholder ratio dropping considerably into low single digits, considerably improving the ratio of satisfaction and trust from last year.

We are delighted to see that trust and confidence in the banking sector have improved significantly in the last year, despite a challenging economic environment. UAE banks are doing a fantastic job at addressing issues and challenges, and remain steadfast in their commitment to national economic development. We will work with them to leverage these findings in an effort to build a more resilient and robust banking sector, H.E. AbdulAziz Al Ghurair said.

UBFs CEOs Advisory Council also discussed the recent governance and regulations from the Central Bank of the UAE and Federal Tax Authority, as well as plans to establish a local system for cards payments.