ABU DHABI - Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS), has chaired the first meeting of the new EIBFS Board of Directors on Thursday, 26th May.

At the beginning of the meeting, he congratulated the new EIBFS Board of Directors, and wished them success in fulfilling their duties and responsibilities to promote the competitiveness of the financial and banking sectors and develop the skills of Emiratis in the sectors.

Balama highlighted the confidence and support from His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CBUAE in the new Board to achieve its plans and strategies, which aim to provide training and equip young Emiratis with the necessary skills and global expertise to lead the UAE financial and banking sectors, in line with the directives of the leadership for Emiratisation. In addition, he also thanked the former members of the Board for their efforts and initiatives to develop the Institute.

"The new Board of Directors will work on structuring and developing the Institute's training plans and programmes to keep pace with international best practice, strengthening plans to develop the skills of national cadres working in the financial and banking sectors at various professional and leadership levels, enhancing Emiratisation strategy and the development of the national economy," Balama added.

Furthermore, the CBUAE's Governor pointed out EIBFS’s additional mandate to follow up on the implementation of the CBUAE’s Emiratisation initiatives being a strategic partner for the banking, financial and economic sectors, and an industry provider of qualified national competencies to keep pace with the labour market’s requirements in these sectors.

During the meeting, the Board discussed topics and issues on the agenda, including reviewing the Annual Report that highlighted the EIBFS’s activities and projects, and the Financial and Administrative Report. The Board elected Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor of the CBUAE for Strategic Affairs - Financial Infrastructure and Digitisation Department, as its Vice Chairman.

Previously, the EIBFS General Assembly had approved the restructuring of its Board of Directors, where the CBUAE's Governor would become Board Chairman. It also authorised the new Board to amend the Institute’s primary law to achieve the CBUAE’s strategic goals and initiatives.

In addition to EIBFS Board Chairman and Vice Chairman, other Board members attending the meeting included Alaa Erekat, Group CEO of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank; Mohammed Abdullah, CEO of Sharjah Islamic Bank; Mr. Hamad Abdullah Al Mehyas, CEO of the National Health Insurance Company (Daman); Eman Abdulrazzaq, Chief Human Resources Officer for Emirates NBD Group; Ehab Anis Al Ameri, Head of Human Resources Department at the CBUAE; Shehab Al Zaabi, Head of Licensing at the CBUAE; and Jamal Al Jassmi, EIBFS General Manager.