More than 600 global and local regulators are expected to discuss the latest trends impacting the regulatory, governance, risk and compliance (GRC) community in the GCC Regulators' Summit in January in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Organised Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, the 10th edition of the event will take place at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi on January 25 and 26.

The event is organized under the patronage of Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Economy and in association with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

Nadim Najjar, managing director, Middle East, of Thomson Reuters, said: “Firms and their compliance officers are facing significant changes all with the threat of ever bigger fines, combined with an increasingly wide range of other sanctions being used by regulators to drive home the need for good compliance and good customer outcomes.”

“Globally, and here in the region, agendas in financial services firms have been overwhelmed by regulatory matters, whether it is a briefing on changing, or even conflicting regulatory expectations, the latest round of enforcement actions, the additional skilled resources and investment needed to implement the latest rounds of regulatory change,” he added.

Najjar noted that compliance officers have to develop stronger working relationships with regulators, provide good management information, whilst remaining focused on institutional governance that increases transparency and investor confidence.

“Over the past 10 years the GCC Regulators Summit has become a critical forum  in the Middle East where regional and international regulators come together to share information with each other and the wider community. It is a point of pride that Thomson Reuters is able to continue to support the regulatory community and help companies throughout the region find solutions to the ever increasing challenges they face,” he said.

Richard Teng, chief executive officer of the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) said: “While global economies strive to weather evolving uncertainties, the Summit will provide a timely platform for regulators and market participants to deliberate emergent financial trends and regulatory developments.”

“As an international financial centre, ADGM understands the need and importance of advocating best practices in financial regulatory and compliance standards in the region.  As we welcome more new players to the marketplace, ADGM will continue to work closely with key stakeholders to maintain an open and robust regulatory environment that responses appropriately to the demands of the wider economy, and fosters financial stability in Abu Dhabi and the wider region,” Teng added.

The programme will explore key themes such as ten years of evolving regulation in the Middle East,  banking in the GCC, updates on major international sanctions corruption & anti-money laundering, next generation Know Your Customer controls, future risk scenario planning, mitigation of the impact of geopolitics, information security and virtual currencies.

The summit also features discussions on the related economic, financial, and reputational costs of non-compliance, the importance of responsible leadership and will address the global shortage of compliance talent, amongst many other topics. The summit is sponsored by Deloitte, Banque Saudi Fransi and Barclay Simpson. – TradeArabia News Service