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The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has organised the 9th GCC Banking Conference at the Ritz Carlton Hotel & Spa in co-operation with the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) Secretariat General.
The theme of the event, which is being held under the patronage of the Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, is 'A New Era in International Banking Practices: Implications for the GCC Markets'.
The influential banking and finance event has drawn more than 350 participants from the GCC, Middle East, North America, Europe, Africa and Russia and has gained a great support from top financial organisations such as the National Bank of Bahrain, Al Salam Bank and Ahli United Bank among many others.
Topics are focusing on the GCC's regulatory industry and offering participants with the opportunity to debate with regulators on the most up-to-date and significant issues affecting regional markets.
The keynote address yesterday was entitled Global Financial Market Developments, by Sir Howard Davies, director of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Sessions held yesterday included The Outlook for the GCC Economy with panelists Dr Eckart Woertz, GCC-Economic Programme manager, Gulf Research Centre, UAE; Dr John Sfakianakis, chief economist, Saudi British Bank and Dr Said Al Shaikh, chief economist, National Commercial Bank, Saudi Arabia.
There were also various other forums featuring top-flight business managers, executives and economists.
Day two of the conference, today, will feature a keynote address on Government Intervention during the Financial Crisis by Dr Martin Feldstein, Professor of Economics at Harvard University, followed by a session on Developments in GCC Monetary Union which will be chaired by Dr Nasser Al Kaud, deputy of the assistant secretary general for economic affairs, GCC - Secretariat General, Saudi Arabia. This session will again be attended by senior world economists and movers and shakers from the international financial world.
The concluding session, which will be chaired by CBB governor Rasheed Al Maraj, will include all the GCC central bank and monetary agency heads - Shaikh Salem Al Sabah, Central Bank of Kuwait; Hamoud Sangour Al Zadjali, Central Bank of Oman; Shaikh Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani, Qatar Central Bank; Dr Mohammed Al Jasser, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency and Sultan bin Nasser Al Suweidi, Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates.
