IslamicFinance.de

Job Objective
• To develop, manage and administer Information Security Systems
Job Description
• Provide the necessary inputs for defining and develop Information Security Policies and procedures.
• Conduct Information Security Awareness sessions and Communicate Policies to users and IT staff.
• Define Security Requirements and baselines for new information systems.
• Perform regular Penetration Tests and Vulnerability Assessments for information systems.

Position Responsibilities:
• Strategic interventions for improvement of cards portfolio size and quality
• Cards portfolio Pricing initiatives
• Support the cards acquisition efforts , specially around cross sell and alternate channels
• Improve the authorization rates for the card transactions
• Process improvement across the customer life cycle resulting in improved NPS for the business
• Support pan – product technology initiatives
• Cards alliances

Responsible to lead and coordinate the business efforts in the Islamic Core Banking implementation during various project phases such as Requirements & Gap Analysis, Business Process Definition & Parameterization, Customization, Testing and post go-live support
Coordinate the detailed requirements about various products, characteristics, control and monitoring requirements, end to end process details and expected process improvements

A leading regional financial institution are looking for an experienced professional to head up and build their Treasury and Middle Office Function.

The candidate:

- Should have a strong and relevant academic background
- Must have a minimum of 10 years related experience working in Treasury and Middle Office functions dealing with limit management and P&L reconciliation

[...]

An experienced Technical Services Support Manager to help International sites from implementation of telecommunication links through to after live support.

A background in Infrastructure/ Data Centre build within a bank (ideally) would be ideal for this role.

[...]

The ideal candidate will have knowledge of the platform they work on (Phoenix), however similar core banking system (i-Flex/ Tenemos) knowledge will be acceptable. You must have knowledge and experience developing general banking products (Loans/ Trading).

Proven leadership skills along with strong communication skills (Arabic and English) is essential for this role.

[...]

•Manage the staff assigned to the level determined by senior management.
•Maintain revamp (Retail & Corporate) existing Asset Products to support all businesses of the Bank keeping in view the bank’s strategic focus
•Maintain & revamp (Retail & Corporate) existing Liability Products to support all businesses of the bank keeping in view the bank’s strategic focus
•Launch and implement new and innovative Shari’a compliant products (both Assets & Liabilities, retail and corporate) developed around market needs customer perceptions and the Bank’s requirement.
•Partner with Retail and Corporate Teams for strategic tie-ups with companies/organizations and prepare special Shari’a package/product offers.

Saudi Arabia has led the way in developing pristine new cities devoted to specialized industries through a proposed public/private endeavor. Under development are four Economic Cities, Each of the them has a different private developer. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) is consigned the role of attracting and processing foreign direct investment. The Economic Cities Authority is designed to regulate but not develop the new cities. The projects are intended to bring in modern technology, management skills, corporate governance and new industries so that the Kingdom is no longer dependent on oil and gas.

London-based private bank Coutts warns of the possible bursting of the bubble in emerging market debts and recommends a switch towards equities and other assets less vulnerable to a sharp withdrawal of investment. According to Gary Dugan, the bank's chief investment officer for Asia and the Middle East, investors should beware in the Middle East of a significant sell-off in sukuk. In recent weeks, financial firms including Fitch Ratings and Goldman Sachs have joined a debate over whether a "bubble" is brewing in fixed-income markets.

According to the rating agency A.M. Best, inconsistent regulation across the Gulf's takaful industry affects profit margins and credit ratings, while providing an arbitrage opportunity. The lack of coordination among regulators causes difficulties for takaful operators, increasing therefore their funding costs by as much as 1 percentage point. Some companies take advantage of the variation in rules - booking business in one country while selling policies elsewhere. Jurisdictions with specific takaful rules include the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, the Dubai International Financial Centre and the Qatar Financial Centre. Some others, such as Kuwait, do not have specific regulations.

Saudi Arabia replaced the head of its Capital Market Authority with Mohammad Al al-Sheikh, a World Bank executive representing Saudi Arabia. Former chairman Abdulrahman A Al Tuwaijri was relieved of his duties by royal decree, without giving a reason. The action caused speculation that the kingdom will move toward opening its equities market to foreign investors. Al-Sheikh is expected to start regulating the Saudi financial market with new laws and regulations.

3BL 'Triple Bottom Line' Associates (3BL), Bahrain's first social impact and sustainability consultancy, has released the results of the Bahrain Responsible Business Survey. According to report, the most popular understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is community engagement. Whereas, the most prevalent CSR activities are: Community Engagement, Employee Wellness, Transparency, Corporate Governance, Health and Safety, and Gender Equality and Diversity. The importance given to the environment among survey respondents was much lower than for social responsibility.

Abdul Aziz al Balushi, CEO of Ahlibank, said that the bank may convert some of the existing conventional branches to Islamic banking ones or may open more new Islamic banking branches. He added that services, products and dealing of Ahlibank's Al Hilal Islamic Banking Services are built on the tenets of truth and transparency, and are in accordance with sharia principles. Ahlibank is confident that Islamic banking will be a great success in Oman.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) group announced its financial results for last year, reporting a net profit of Dhs1.19bn, an increase of 13% compared to 2011. DIB's Board of Directors also recommended the distribution of a cash dividend of 15%, subject to regulatory and general assembly approvals. In general, the financial results show healthy growth across the bank's operations, confirmed by Fitch Ratings recently, that gave the bank a Long-term Issuer Default Rating at 'A' with a stable outlook.

Dubai aims to become a top global centre for Islamic bonds by introducing more detailed standards about issuance and trading. The emirate hopes the new standards will reduce disputes between scholars, issuers and investors over what types of debt structures are permissible and attract more business to its market. Last month, Dubai Financial Market (DFB) published a draft of its proposals, which the industry can comment. DFB plans to issue the final version of the standards in March.

Shuaa Capital announced the establishment of Saudi-based Gulf Installments Company, which focuses on providing installment and lease financing to businesses across a variety of sectors and assets. Lease periods are available from 1 to 4 years and can be tailored to suit the needs of each individual client based on the term, down payment and rental plan. David Hunt was appointed CEO of Gulf Installments Company which will be operated by Gulf Finance under a management contract with Shuaa.

Mashreq has reported a net profit of AED1.3 billion for the last year, constituting a 60 per cent increase on the previous year. The annual increase is on the back of fee income and investment income. The board has proposed a cash dividend of 38% subject to Central Bank and shareholder approval. According to the Chief Executive Officer of Mashreq, H.E. Abdul-Aziz Al Ghurair, the sucess of Mashreq in 2012 is based on commitment to customer centricity and staying at the leading edge of banking innovation. The bank also received several awards last year.

Alafco, a Kuwait-based Aircraft leasing group, may list some of its shares on an international exchange. The idea reportedly came from shareholders. However, the size of the stake that could be listed or on which exchange was not announced. Kuwait Finance House owns a 53.69 percent stake in Alafco, the rest belongs to State-run Kuwait Airways Corporation and private investors.

The Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) situated in Bahrain has upgraded the credit rating of Jordan Islamic Bank (JIB) on the national scale, whereas the international scale ratings of JIB have been reaffirmed. The outlook on the ratings is 'stable'. The report issued by the agency also reaffirmed JIB's Sharia Quality Rating of AA, which confirms the bank's conformance to very high standards of Islamic Shari'a principles in its dealings and finances.

Oman's Ahlibank, which launched its Al Hilal Islamic banking services in the sultanate, is considering to convert all its conventional branches to Islamic banking. According to Abdullah al Jabri, DGM and head of Al Hilal Islamic Banking Services, the bank is planning to start with branches in Ibra, Nizwa and Sur in the coming month.