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The World Islamic Retail Banking Conference, internationally recognized as the largest and most significant gathering of Islamic banking and finance leaders, was held at Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai. The three-day conference was widely attended by the CEOs and Senior Management personnel from the banking sector of the Gulf, the MENA Region and International Finance Houses.
Participating in a panel discussion titled ‘International Expansion of Regional Islamic Banks,’ Mr Seetharaman, CEO Doha Bank said “Islamic Banking has started to attract more attention from conventional bankers as a source of sustainable and ethical financing. This conference will serve as a platform for Islamic banking experts and practitioners to discuss the challenges faced by Islamic banks in sustaining comparative advantage in the respective markets of their operations.”
Doha Bank has taken rapid strides in International Banking and has its Representative offices in key Islamic banking hubs such as UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan apart from its conventional branches in other world financial centers.
If one thing has been confirmed by the financial crisis, Mr Seetharaman continued, it is that Islamic Banking provides a more viable alternative to conventional banking and is less cycle-prone. The spread and success of Islamic Finance into western markets demonstrates that it is now being treated seriously by regulators and finance ministries.
The industry leaders felt that the conference has come at a time when it is needed most. They acknowledged that the conference will help seize this perfect opportunity and enable practitioners to discuss solutions for the obstacles that come in its way. The collapse of leading Wall Street institutions, notably Lehman Brothers, and the subsequent global financial crisis and economic recession, are encouraging economists world-wide to consider alternative financial solutions.
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