Doha Symposium to Mull New Approach to GCC Financial Risk Management

Doha, January 14 (QNA) - The QFC Regulatory Authority is facilitating a one-day symposium in Doha to discuss evolving best practices in financial risk management and to review emerging financial risks specific to the GCC. The spirit of both the symposium and the QFC Regulatory Authority is to take a proactive and prudent approach to risk management, highlighting, in particular the region-specific risk considerations in the financial sector and to position Qatar as the regional leader in risk management practices, the Authority said in a media statement Saturday. The GCC Risk Management Symposium 'The New Order' will be held at Ritz Carlton Doha on January 30. HE the Governor of Qatar Central Bank (QCB) Sheikh Abdullah Saud Al Thani will address the Symposium. The QFC Regulatory Authority Chairman Phillip Thorpe said, "Over the last three years, financial regulators have focused on strengthening financial risk management at both the macro-prudential and micro-prudential levels. To reinforce this trend, the QFC Regulatory Authority is facilitating the Symposium with the intention of not only discussing risk management challenges that are common to the GCC, but to also address these through practical, actionable outcomes for implementation in the future." The Symposium will bring together senior risk professionals, regional central bankers, regulators and subject experts from across the banking, insurance and asset management sectors both from the GCC and international jurisdictions. The Symposium will be a significant conclave as it will be one of the first of its kind to focus on emerging risk considerations as well as best practices in effective risk management that are specific to the GCC. The topics to be discussed include the impact of the global financial crisis on the region; the lessons learnt and the challenges that remain for regulators and financial industry globally; emerging trends in financial sector regulation; establishing an effective risk governance framework; the benefits and challenges of Basel III implementation for the GCC; key macro-prudential developments for the region; a case study of internal rating models for financial institutions; and a regional perspective on market, credit and operational risks for banks - conventional versus Sharia compliant - in the region. Financial support and strategic collaboration has been provided by the QFC Authority, Al Attiya Computer & Technology, Algorithmic (an IBM Company), KPMG, Moody s Analytics, S&P Capital IQ and Thomson Reuters, the Authority said. (QNA)