Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, Istanbul, Turkey | General Council of Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions, the umbrella of Islamic financial institutions launched the second and final day of its third Global Forum, with the theme of “The New Face of Financial Services: Disruptions, Opportunities and the New Normals” this morning.

The second day of CIBAFI Global Forum, which is organised in partnership with the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency of Turkey (BRSA) at Raffles Istanbul Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, started with a special and exclusive CIBAFI Breakfast session on “Leadership and Strategy in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.

CIBAFI Breakfast Session is an interactive exchange that challenges conventional wisdom and practice around personal and organisational leadership. It offers a very different perspective – one that is much more suited to today’s uber-connected and uber-populated age.

CIBAFI Breakfast Special Session stage was taken this year by the Author of Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders (Simon & Schuster, 2011), Be the Change (McGraw-Hill, 2014), Open Source Leadership: Reinventing Management When There's No More Business as Usual (McGraw-Hill, Oct 2017), and a regular writer for Forbes - Rajeev Peshawaria. The eminent author shared the stage in a conversation with a Veteran Regulator and Prominent Academic Prof. Ahmet Faruk Aysan, currently Dean, İstanbul Şehir University

The fourth session themed “Role and Power of Mobile in Expanding Financial Inclusion” was chaired by Mr. Mohamed Abbes, Public Policy Director, MENA, GSMA, Tunisia. Panelist of the session included Mr. Fadi Al Faqih, Chief Executive Officer, Bank of Khartoum, Sudan; Mr. Mohammed Kateeb, Group Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Path Solutions, Kuwait; and Mr. Mehmet Cantekin, General Manager, Turkcell Finansman A.Ş, Turkey. The Session focused on the power of mobile banking, and the future of business in the shadow of Banks and Telecom. Session panelists have shared their experience and thoughts on whether the Mobile money and payments is an opportunity or threat for Islamic financial Institutions.

The second day was concluded with Session 5 themed “Leveraging the Industry Growth in the Era of Fourth Industrial Revolution”, which was chaired by Prof. Dr. Lokman Gündüz, Director of Graduate School of Business, İstanbul Şehir University. The panelists included Mr. Mustafa Gharaibeh, Cyber Security Account Executive, Darktrace, United Kingdom; Dr. Ali Al Sartawi, Shariah Supervisory Board Member, Palestine Islamic Bank; Mr. Marco Lichtfous, Partner, Deloitte Tax & Consulting, Luxembourg; Mr. Muhammet Cerit, Vice Chairman, Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, Turkey; Mr. Achraf Tarsim, Manager - Infrastructure, Financial and Private Sectors Division, North Africa, African Development Bank (AfDB), Tunisia; and Mr. Derek Baraldi, Head of Banking Industry, World Economic Forum LLC, USA. The session presented an overview of technologies underpinning the fourth industrial revolution, and discussed the role of digital branches, robo-advisors in enhancing customers’ banking experience. It also focused on cyber security and discussed avenues to minimize the risks.

This Global Forum is organised as part of CIBAFI’s 3rd Strategic Objective of Awareness & Information Sharing, which aims to spread awareness and promote information sharing among its members and other stakeholders for the development of the Islamic finance industry. This annual industry leaders gathering of CIBAFI, has marked its place as the industry debate and networking venue.

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About the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI)

CIBAFI is an international organization established in 2001 and Headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain. CIBAFI is affiliated with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).  CIBAFI represents the Islamic financial services industry globally, defending and promoting its role, consolidating co-operation among its members, and with other institutions with similar interests and objectives. With more than 120 members from 33 jurisdictions, representing market players, international intergovernmental organizations and professional firms, and industry associations.

For more information about CIBAFI, please visit www.CIBAFI.org  

Tel: +973 17357300  Email: media@cibafi.org 

© Press Release 2018