As part of its ongoing efforts to address the major challenges facing Arab banks and out of its keenness to follow the prudential regulatory procedures and sound practices in risk management in accordance with the new Basel recommendations, Jordan Commercial Bank sponsored the Prudential Regulatory Procedures and Sound Practices in Risk Management Forum. The Forum was held between 18-19 February at the Intercontinental Hotel in Amman, and it was attended by members of the Bank’s Board of Directors, the General Manager, executives and employees.

The Forum addressed many topics and themes in this regard, such as the role of banks in reducing systemic risk and protecting financial stability; regulatory controls for identifying weak banks; support mechanisms; financial crises; early warning systems; Arab regulatory experiences in the implementation of Basel III recommendations; sound practices in Islamic banking risk management; supervisory controls; banking governance; and sound practices in risk management.

As one of the keynote speakers, Mahdi Allawi, the Bank’s General Manager, highlighted the importance of banking governance and sound practices in risk management, including the implementation of a set of principles aimed at providing effective internal controls and strict external regulatory and legislative tools to reduce the risks faced by the banking sector, particularly credit risk. This is because recent experiences at the global level have shown that poor governance in the banking sector nearly destroyed national economies.

In appreciation of the Bank’s sponsorship and continued support, the Union of Arab Banks honored Jordan Commercial Bank, represented by its General Manager, Mahdi Allawi.

For his part, Allawi said, "The Bank’s sponsorship of the Forum stems from its belief in the need to identify the present challenges and risks facing the banking sector and the need to apply the latest international standards to address such challenges and reduce risks with a view to building a promising economic future on solid and sound foundations."