RICHARD H. KOPPES
Former Deputy Executive Officer at California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and currently a member of the board of governors at the International Corporate Governance Network

Renowned as an elder statesman in corporate governance circles, Mr. Richard Koppes has long been at the forefront of developments in shareholder rights and corporate governance. He has served as the second-in-command at CalPERS, one of the most powerful institutional investors in the world. With more than US$165 billion in assets, the largest retirement fund in the US is said to influence the way corporations are managed, by requiring certain standards before investing in an institution. At CalPERS, Mr. Koppes was responsible for all legal advice, including fiduciary obligations, as well as direction of the fund’s corporate governance programmes. He also oversaw all internal auditing matters and public affairs activities.

Mr. Koppes, who is now an Of counsel at the law firm Jones Day in Sacramento, California, has taught corporate governance at Stanford Law School. He also served as a member of the New York Stock Exchange Board of Governor’s Legal Advisory Committee, among other responsibilities.

Today, Mr. Koppes is a member of the board of directors at several US companies, such as Apria Healthcare Group Inc. and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International. In addition, he serves as a board member of several corporate-governance-related organisations, including Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC) in Washington, D.C., and the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) based in London. .

In his keynote presentation at the Summit’s Corporate Governance & Risk Management Conference, Mr. Koppes is expected to speak about institutional investors’ evolving demands for corporate transparency and responsibility over the years, and how the trend of heightened shareholder activism might develop, especially in the current era of high-profile corporate missteps. In a separate session, Mr. Koppes will join a discussion with the legendary Mr. William Seidman, who as the first chairman of the US Resolution and Trust Corporation, was credited with resolving the US’ savings-and-loans crisis of the 1980s.

IAN MULLEN
CEO, British Bankers’ Association

The financial-services industry is undergoing critical shifts, particularly in the area of risk management and compliance. Banks and regulators are encountering unfamiliar ground as Basel II is implemented and the industry is seeking clear perspectives on the new realities. The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) is renowned for unflinching and practical views on risk management and Basel II, which carry much weight in the global marketplace. Mr. Ian Mullen, BBA’s chief executive, is expected to give his assessment of recent developments and their possible evolution.

As the voice of financial institutions located in the world’s leading financial centre, London, the BBA is an influential organisation, not just in the UK and Europe but also internationally. BBA’s approximately 250 members include international financial institutions, and because many of the large banks in BBA have global links, the BBA engages in dialogues with regulators and other industry bodies within and outside the UK and Europe.

In addition to his primary role as CEO of the BBA, Mr. Mullen chairs the European Banking Industry Committee (EBIC) and the International Banking Federation (IBFed). He is also the immediate past Chairman of the European Banking Federation’s Executive Committee. He is also Chairman of the UK Joint Money Laundering Steering Group, the financial industry’s body responsible for the drafting and production of the industry’s anti-money laundering guidance notes.

Over the last 18 years, Mr. Mullen has held top management positions in London, Hong Kong and Zurich. He was a director at Midland Bank (now HSBC Bank), CEO of Jardine’s security interests in Asia and Chief Credit Officer at UBS Private Banking based in Zurich, among other roles. He assumed the helm at BBA in May 2001.

JOSEPH LUHUKAY
President Director, Lippo Bank and member of the National Committee on Good Corporate Governance, Indonesia"

Dr. Joseph Luhukay is a prominent member of the National Committee on Good Corporate Governance in Indonesia, which drafted the country’s corporate governance code. In 2003, when Dr. Luhukay was appointed President Director of what was then a troubled Lippo Bank, the industry applauded it as a big step forward for the bank. Lippo, one of Indonesia’s largest banks listed on the Jakarta stock exchange, has since been on a steady course of recovery.

Dr. Luhukay, a former equity partner at Ernst & Young, will discuss his efforts at transforming Lippo Bank into a transparent and responsible institution. He will also present his vision of the new corporate environment, where risk management, audit and corporate governance are converging into one practice.

DR. GUNTER DUFEY
Member of the board of directors, subsidiaries of General Motors Acceptance Corp. and Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan

Dr. Gunter Dufey is a firm proponent of using risk management within the boardroom. He believes this will improve corporate governance standards, which will in turn lead to greater economic returns for stakeholders. He will speak about the benefits of infusing corporate boards with risk awareness. Dr. Dufey was a member of the board of directors at Fuji Logitech in the 1990s and continues to serve on the boards of Guiness/Atkinson Funds in the US and four subsidiaries of General Motors Acceptance Corporation in the US and Canada. Dr. Dufey’s academic interests are primarily in international money and capital markets, financial policies of multinational corporations, corporate governance and international expansion. He is also a professor of banking and finance at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

MICHAEL COLEMAN
Managing Director, Aisling Analytics

When China Aviation Oil’s extensive trading losses were made public, Mr. Michael Coleman was one of the most vocal shareholders who questioned Chinese companies’ ability to govern themselves properly. Aisling Analytics, which owns a small number of shares in the disgraced Chinese firm, was founded by Mr. Coleman in 2004 as a trading advisor to a relative-value commodity hedge fund. At the Summit, Mr. Coleman will join a panel of industry specialists to discuss lessons in corporate governance and risk management to be learnt from the China Aviation Oil fallout. In a separate session, Mr. Coleman will give updates on developments in the hedge fund industry and what every risk manager and corporate board member must know about hedge funds.

Mr. Coleman has been a proprietary commodity trader for more than 22 years, and has held various trading and management positions at Cargill, including the role of managing director of Asia Pacific petroleum trading. He was also a director of The Singapore Commodity Exchange and is currently a director
of several risk-arbitrage and distressed-debt hedge funds managed by Sisu
Capital, a UK-based hedge fund manager.

TAN HUP THYE
Managing Director, Refco Singapore

Refco is a global futures commission merchant and is a leading broker in the derivatives markets worldwide. This US$20-billion company has memberships in major futures exchanges throughout the world. Mr Tan Hup Thye, as head of Refco in Singapore, oversees the firm’s regional business in Tokyo, Mumbai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul. He was previously a director of the former Singapore International Monetary Exchange (SIMEX), which is now a part of the Singapore Exchange.

Mr. Tan will join the panel “What Went Wrong At China Aviation Oil ~ Lessons in Corporate Governance and Risk Management of Chinese Corporations” He is expected to give expert views on risk management in derivatives trading.

Dr. MICHAEL ONG
Professor of Finance, Stuart Graduate School of Business, Illinois Institute of Technology

A prolific and acclaimed author on risk management, Dr. Michael Ong spent many years as head of risk management at Credit Agricole Indosuez in New York, the Carr Futures Group and ABN Amro Bank. In the course of his distinguished career, he was responsible for managing risk across the enterprise, including corporate banking, merchant banking, asset management and other areas. Dr. Ong is author of the critically acclaimed books “Internal Credit Risk Models – Capital Allocation and Performance Measurement”, its sequel “Credit Ratings – Methodologies, Rationale and Default Risk” and “The Basel Handbook – A Guide for Financial Practitioners”. He was recently appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Credit Risk.

ALI SAMAD-KHAN
President, OpRisk Advisory

Mr. Ali Samad-Khan advises the world’s leading banks on operational risk measurement and management issues. He has also advised the major bank regulatory authorities, including the Risk Management Group of Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Financial Services Authority (UK) and the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority. His areas of expertise include establishing an integrated operational risk measurement and management framework, developing policies and procedures, internal loss event database design and implementation, data quality assessment, data sufficiency, risk indicator identification, risk and control self assessment, disciplined scenario analysis, causal/predictive modeling, advanced VaR measurement techniques and economic capital allocation. Key elements of the OpRisk Advisory framework and methodology have been adopted by dozens of leading financial institutions worldwide and have also been incorporated into the BIS guidelines. Before joining OpRisk Advisory, Mr. Samad-Khan was the CEO of OpRisk Analytics and was head of PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Operational Risk Group in New York. He has also held positions at Bankers Trust, the World Bank and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Mr. Samad-Khan believes that some “best practices” may be obsolete and if financial institutions invest in inappropriate operational risk programmes, they may end up with non-compliance. He will be at the Summit to speak about these issues in the session “Managing the New Compliance Culture ~ Evolving Roles for Risk, Audit and Compliance Under Basel II and the New IAS Regime”.

DAVID BELMONT
Managing Director, Head of Risk Management, Temasek Holdings

Mr. David Belmont is a firm proponent of using risk management to enhance an organisation’s value to shareholders, and has authored the compelling book “Value Added Risk Management for Financial Institutions”. He is putting his proposition into practice as head of risk management at Temasek Holdings, the Singapore government’s investment-holding company, which has interests in diverse industries and has stakes in institutions such as DBS Bank and Neptune Orient Lines. Mr. Belmont was once a trader for a hedge fund at Cargill Inc. but discovered that his prudent personality was more suited to risk management. Today, he maintains an interest in hedge funds and will join a discussion on hedge funds and risk management.

OTBERT DE JONG
Executive Vice President and Global Head of Risk Advisory, ABN AMRO Bank

Mr. Otbert de Jong directs two teams of senior risk management professionals based in Amsterdam and Singapore, whose task is to advise, consult and coach financial institutions’ management on global best practices in risk management. Mr. de Jong was previously Head of Credit Portfolio Management in the Asia Pacific at ABN AMRO and has headed the bank’s operations in Kazakhstan, among other senior positions he has held at ABN AMRO. At the Summit, Mr. de Jong will join discussions on new roles for risk, audit and compliance professionals and risk management in the corporate boardroom.

DEAN JOVIC
Group Managing Director of Risk Management / Basel II
SunGard Trading and Risk Systems

As financial institutions begin implementing Basel II, they are seeking ways to leverage the implementation efforts to smoothen operations, improve capital management, reduce costs and gain other potential benefits. Dr. Dean Jovic will be at the Summit to discuss how Basel II implementation efforts can be used to build and deploy advanced economic capital modeling. He is responsible for developing and implementing SunGard’s strategic plans in the risk management space, with particular attention to Basel II requirements. Dr Jovic works closely with clients and industry participants to determine how technology can help banks meet the recommendations of Basel II. Dr. Jovic also works on a consultative level to help clients implement best practice technology solutions in support of their Basel II initiatives. Dr. Jovic was previously vice president and head of risk consulting for SunGard's ALM & risk consulting unit, AlmafinJaeger, a SunGard Company in St.Gall and Zurich, Switzerland.

TIM MATHER
Chief Information Security Officer, Symantec

Mr. Tim Mather’s distinguished career in information security included seven years in Washington, D.C., working on secure communications for a classified, national-level command, control, communications and intelligence project involving both civilian and military departments and agencies. Before joining Symantec in 1999, he was manager of security at VeriSign and manager of information systems security at Apple Computer. At Symantec, Mr. Mather is responsible for developing all information systems security policies and all activities related to information systems audit. He also oversees the implementation of all security-related policies and procedures at Symantec. At the Summit, Mr. Mather will discuss financial institutions’ evolving requirements for information flow in a time when transparency and risk management standards are becoming exacting. He will also explore the risks inherent in these developments.

RICHARD D. SALVATTO
Vice President, Fair Isaac

Mr. Richard Salvatto specialises in decision support and control systems used in the credit field, with 30 years’ experience in the area. He has been involved with hundreds of credit- and behaviour-scoring projects in commercial and retail banking, credit card propositions and consumer finance environments. He has worked on system developments throughout the US and Asia. At the Summit, Mr. Salvatto will speak about redesigning the decision-making process to support greater transparency and risk management, especially under the demands of Basel II and new International Accounting Standards (IAS) requirements.

JUSTO A. ORTIZ
Chairman and CEO, Union Bank of the Philippines

The Union Bank of the Philippines is the only Philippine bank to be ranked among the 25 soundest banks in the world for four consecutive years, from 1998-2001, by The Banker in London. In addition, Union Bank has won numerous other accolades from respected organisations such as Watson Wyatt, Finance Asia, The Asian Banker and the Philippine Clearing House Corp. for excellence in areas ranging from retail banking to clearing-related processes to overall management. In April 2003, Finance Asia named the bank among 10 best-managed companies in the Philippines. Union Bank has indeed stood out in a market where most other Philippine banks preferred size and market share. In contrast, Union Bank stayed focused on providing laudable service, innovation and market differentiation. Technology is at the heart of Union Bank’s business, with information and network access forming the core of offerings. The bank is particularly strong in the areas of capital markets, treasury, corporate cash management, Internet banking, consumer finance and distribution network.

Mr. Justo Ortiz has been the bank’s chairman and chief executive since 1993. He was previously with Citibank for 16 years, in diverse roles ranging from treasury marketing to investment banking, and was the bank’s managing partner for global finance before moving to Union Bank. Under his guidance, Union Bank has made outstanding achievements, as is evident from its financial and market position. At the Summit, Mr. Ortiz will join discussions at a keynote presentation on operational considerations and issues for financial institutions that are expanding and growing.

CHANDA KOCHHAR
Executive Director, ICICI Bank

ICICI, India’s second-largest bank, is the quintessence of the new generation of financial institutions. It operates at about a tenth the cost of a comparable financial institution in the US, yet has managed to acquire 250,000 new customers per month, rapidly adding to an already substantial base of 10 million customers. Ms. Chanda Kochhar, ICICI’s head of retail banking, plays a crucial role in the bank’s continued growth and has been largely responsible for what is considered a phenomenal success for a relatively young bank.

ICICI clearly owes its achievements to a savvy use of IT. The bank spends $25 million to $30 million annually on technology, but does not get locked in with any one vendor or provider. Flexibility and responsiveness are key to the bank’s IT strategy. Ms Kochhar, who was a member of the core group that set strategic directions for the bank when it was established in the early 1990s, will update the Summit on ICICI’s various IT-related endeavours and identify pressing operational and business issues facing expanding banks today.

JEAN-LOUIS BRAVARD
Managing Director, Global Financial Services Industry, EDS

At EDS, Mr. Jean-Louis Bravard is the person who drives the creation of thought leadership to challenge the industry status quo and to outline future models for financial-services institutions that seek excellence. As the head of EDS’ global financial services industry, Mr. Bravard is responsible for defining and creating EDS’ strategy for providing innovative solutions to clients in retail banking, insurance and capital markets sectors.

EDS provides strategy, implementation and hosting for clients by managing the business and technology complexities of the digital economy. The firm brings together the world’s best technologies to address critical client business imperatives. EDS, with its management consulting subsidiary, A.T. Kearney, serves the world’s leading companies and governments in 58 countries. This New York Stock Exchange-listed company reported revenues of $24 billion in 2003.

Before joining EDS in 1999, Mr. Bravard was CEO of Arbinet Communications, a New York-based provider of services to global telecommunications clients. During his two-year tenure, Arbinet’s annual sales grew from $9 million to $30 million. In 1996, he co-founded IFusion Com Corporation, a leader in Internet “push” technology. Mr. Bravard has also held senior management positions at VICOR Inc. and J.P. Morgan & Co., where he headed U.S. Fixed Income Research and Global Technology Research, held senior positions in Corporate Finance, and was country manager for Brazil.

At the Summit, Mr. Bravard will deliver a keynote presentation to the Core Banking, Payments and Technology Conference, to address operational and execution issues faced by financial institutions today.

STEVE INGRAM
Managing Director and Group Chief Information Officer, DBS Bank

DBS Bank, Singapore’s largest bank by assets, has ventured successfully into regional markets in Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines and continues to phpire towards further expansion. As the franchise matures and grows, the demands upon its IT capabilities are also escalating. Mr. Steve Ingram, who is respected for his pragmatic and business-oriented approach to IT, is at the helm of efforts to align IT strategies and architectures with DBS’ business goals. He identifies opportunities for innovation and improvement to deliver technology-driven changes to the business. Mr. Ingram has also recently assumed an additional role as head of the bank’s processing and servicing unit.

Among the highlights of his career at DBS is the outsourcing of various IT functions to IBM. This S$1.2 billion, 10-year contract is projected to reduce costs by 20 percent for DBS over the decade. Mr. Ingram continues to develop cost-saving and business-enhancing strategies and will present his ideas at the Summit.

ANDREAS E. SUSETYO
Senior Executive VP & Chief IT Officer, Bank Mandiri

Bank Mandiri, named Indonesia’s best bank by The Banker in 2003, has been spending hundreds of millions of dollars to improve its IT capabilities. The bank recently integrated its core banking system with a vast customer information system and sprawling delivery channels. Mr. Andreas Susetyo, who headed this effort and who directs Bank Mandiri’s IT endeavours, will present a case study of the core banking project.

D. KRISHNAMURTHY
General Manager, Information Technology, Bank of India

Mr. D. Krishnamurthy, chief information officer at the Bank of India, declared that “we have plans to transform ourselves into the most customer-focused bank in the country.” To do so, the bank has been improving its core banking system to support the institution in responding faster to market movements, gaining improved access to customer information and achieving business goals. In April 2004, the bank awarded a $125-million contract to Hewlett Packard to implement and manage Infosys’ core banking solution, Finacle, across 750 branches in India. Mr. Krishnamurthy said the core banking project will “help us to align our IT strategy with business strategies in order to deliver unparalleled customer service.” He will be at the Summit to give further details of the bank’s progress in updating its core banking system.

SUSAN HWEE
Executive Vice President, Information Technology, United Overseas Bank

United Overseas Bank (UOB) is one of Asia's leading banks and Singapore's second largest bank. Having cemented its domestic position through both organic growth and acquisitions, UOB is now expanding its presence and scope of business in China and the ASEAN region. UOB's mission is to be a premier bank in the Asia-Pacific region, committed to providing quality products and excellent customer service.

Ms. Susan Hwee, Executive Vice President of information technology at UOB, plays a key role in the bank's blueprint for growth. She is responsible for the strategy and provision of IT services to support UOB’s global expansion. Ms. Hwee joined the bank in 2001, a time of consolidation between UOB and the Overseas Union Bank. The corporate marriage resulted in a 40% increase in customer base for the merged entity. Under her leadership, over 100 major systems were integrated within an abbreviated timeframe of eight months. Prior to joining UOB, Ms. Hwee had more than 20 years of experience in IT, and has held senior positions in several other large technology and banking organisations, including Citibank N.A. and IBM. At the Summit, Ms Hwee will speak about UOB's CRM, applications and distribution strategies and the resulting business successes.

TERENCE CHAN
Regional Managing Director, East Asia, Siebel Systems

Mr. Terence Chan is the Regional Managing Director of East Asia at Siebel Systems, Inc. In this role, Mr. Chan is responsible for Siebel business operations across ASEAN and India – including starting, developing and managing the entire business across functions, product lines and countries.

Mr. Chan brings with him over 20 years of strong management experience. Prior to joining Siebel Systems in September 2000, Mr. Chan spent 10 years at SAP in various key regional management positions, and as one of the pioneers of SAP in the region. He has played a key role in setting up and expanding SAP’s businesses across Asia-Pacific & Japan. Before SAP, he spent another 10 years working in Hewlett-Packard, British Petroleum and Union Carbide.

Mr. Chan is based in Singapore and is a Chartered Management Accountant by training and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK).

DR. TANAI KHIAONARONG
Senior Analyst, Payments Bank of Thailand

Dr. Tanai Khiaonarong’s extensive work in payments research has involved studies on the cost, pricing, efficiency, strategy setting and simulations on payment and settlement systems. As a senior analyst at the Bank of Thailand’s payments group, his current research interests focus on the forecasting of cash and electronic payments in Asia and using computer-based simulations to assess risk and efficiency in payment systems. He has also done extensive research on the roles governments play in establishing efficient payments systems. At the Summit’s Core Banking, Payments and Technology Conference, Dr. Khiaonarong will speak about the steps Asia needs to take to improve the payments industry. Dr. Khiaonarong was also a visiting scholar at the Bank of Finland’s research department and a visiting research economist at the South East Asian Central Banks Research and Training Centre (SEACEN Centre) in Malaysia. He was an editorial committee member for the Working Group on Payment and Settlement Systems of the Executives’ Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks and Monetary Authorities (EMEAP) and has participated in the group's work on payment statistics, pricing in large-value payment systems, and business continuity planning.

ANGELITO M. VILLANUEVA
Chairman, BancNet Inc. and Senior Executive Vice President of Operations Group, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Philippines

As Chairman of BancNet Inc, Mr. Angelito Villanueva heads the first and largest ATM consortium in the Philippines. BancNet started operations in 1990 with eight member banks and has today grown into a network of 34 of the Philippines’ largest banks managing more than 4 million cardholders. It has the country’s largest network of banks and highest volume of transactions. From its inception, BancNet has used technology to improve its offerings to member banks and their clientele. The suite of services has grown to include e-payments, funds transfers via ATMs, online banking, mobile banking and other innovative schemes. Mr. Villanueva says “BancNet is committed to the future, and the future is electronic commerce.” Mr. Villanueva, who is also head of the operations group at the Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., will be at the Summit to speak about revolutionising the payments industry.

KENNY SEOW
Director and Regional Head of Business Continuity Management, Asia Pacific, Deutsche Bank

Kenny Seow heads Deutsche Bank’s business continuity management programme in the Asia Pacific and is the founding Chairman of the BCM Task Force in The Association of Banks in Singapore. Mr. Seow is also a Certified Business Continuity Planner (CBCP) with extensive experience in disaster recovery, IT auditing and business continuity planning in international institutions. Mr. Seow will discuss critical issues in business continuity management surrounding business process
outsourcing.

GIRISH VAIDYA
Senior Vice President and Head of Finacle, Infosys Technologies

During his 24-year career at ANZ Grindlays Bank, Mr. Girish Vaidya handled diverse functions, including operations, foreign exchange dealing, the implementation of computer systems and strategic planning in Singapore, India, London and Melbourne. He also led the team that developed a management information system for the bank in the 1980s and subsequently headed the bank’s technology function in South Asia. Today, he is Infosys Technologies’ senior vice president and head of Finacle. Mr. Vaidya will be at the Summit together with Mr. D. Krishnamurthy, CIO of the Bank of India, to present a case study on the latter’s core banking system.

CHRISTOPHE UZUREAU
Associate Analyst, Gartner Research

Mr. Christophe Uzureau believes that banks’ payments franchise is under threat at this stage because technological innovations have flooded the payments space with many new players. He will be presenting his views on technological innovations in payments and their effect on the payments market, especially for banks. At Gartner Research, Mr. Uzureau is responsible for covering payment innovations and the dematerialisation of consumer payments worldwide. He also analyses card-processing trends to provide input to processors’ strategy on competitive threats and to design new services. In addition, he advises business development managers and strategists inside payment services providers and banking organisations on how technology represents an opportunity to generate competitive advantage by shaping traditional payment processes.

GREG COLE
Senior Consultant, Gartner Consulting

Greg Cole is a member of Gartner’s Asia/Pacific Strategic Sourcing practice, which focuses on sourcing strategy, evaluation and selection of service providers, contract development and sourcing reviews. Mr. Cole, who is based in Sydney, has several areas of expertise, which include IT governance, strategic sourcing, contract evaluation and tender preparation. Since joining Gartner in 2002, he has been involved in several significant projects. These include reviewing and updating the sourcing strategy for various Australian government agencies. He has also advised an Australian federal government agency on the development of a business continuity strategy, including formulating appropriate service-level metrics and testing regimes. Outside Australia, Mr. Cole has worked with an Indian steel manufacturer to review a long-term infrastructure outsourcing contract and with a global industrial organisation to benchmark the cost of its IT service delivery, among other achievements. At the Summit, Mr. Cole will moderate proceedings at the Core Banking, Payments and Technology Conference.

NORMA SIT
Chief Executive Officer, QB

As CEO of QB, Ms. Norma Sit sees her company as a leader in the contactless smart card e-payment space. She believes the convergence of payments using the chip-based platform and the importance of transit applications on the chip is a killer application for consumers. More than 80 percent of Singapore’s 4 million residents use the national ez-link Contactless Smart Card, mainly for public transport run by the Land Transport Authority of Singapore (LTA). QB is the exclusive partner with LTA, where QB invests in and implements consumer financial payment and loyalty products using the ez-link cards. Ms. Sit spearheaded her company’s bid to win the ez-link contract. QB is a spin-off company from Green Dot Payment Services (GDPS), which won the contract. In her career, Norma has led product, brand, market and industry planning and execution, and has implemented Internet payment joint ventures in four different regulatory regimes in the region. At the Summit, Ms. Sit will discuss the development of Asia’s payments industry and the changes needed to spark further improvements.

ONG CHONG TEE
Deputy Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore

Singapore has long been a formidable financial centre in the region and its comprehensive services, infrastructure and regulatory oversight have helped to attract the best players in the world. But the Republic’s role as a world-class financial centre is incomplete without a well-developed Islamic financial-services industry, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who is also chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), asserted last year. Today, the MAS is steadily building a presence in the Islamic finance industry and aims to create an Islamic finance centre that adds value to the facilities already established in Malaysia and Brunei, the two neighbouring countries that have already built thriving Islamic finance markets. Recently, the MAS concluded that the current regulatory framework can accommodate mainstream and Islamic banking and therefore no new banking laws are needed.

What is Singapore’s role in the global Islamic finance marketplace and what is Singapore’s proposition to the industry? In his keynote address to the International Islamic Finance Conference, Mr. Ong Chong Tee, Deputy Managing Director of MAS, will speak about the regulator’s plans for and progress in establishing an Islamic banking proposition in a rapidly evolving market. Mr. Ong, who joined the MAS 19 years ago, oversees the financial centre development department. He is also responsible for the monetary policy, investment and research functions at the MAS.

DR. RIFAAT AHMED ABDEL KARIM
Secretary General, Islamic Financial Services Board

Considered one of the most influential figures within the Islamic finance world, Dr. Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim heads a significant institution. The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, is an international standards-setting body of regulatory and supervisory authorities from all over the world. The IFSB’s raison d’être is to ensure the stability and soundness of the Islamic financial-services industry. It was established in November 2002 by a group of governors and senior officials of central banks and monetary authorities from across the globe, supported by the Islamic Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions.

The IFSB is building prudence and transparency in the industry by introducing new, or adapting existing, international standards in supervision, governance and accountancy in consistency with Islamic principles. In fact, Dr. Rifaat was the chairman of the Review Committee formed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to prepare an Arabic translation of the IAS. He is a member of the Standards Advisory Council of the IASB.

Dr. Rifaat was previously the secretary general of the Accountancy and Auditing Organization for Financial Institutions for more than eight years. His work in the Islamic financial-services industry is widely regarded as pivotal and he was awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award in Islamic Banking and Finance” in 1998 by the Islamic Banking and Finance Forum in Bahrain. In 2003, he was bestowed the American Finance House – -Lariba Award for Excellence in Faith-Based LARIBA Banking & Finance (Academic Division).

Currently, he is overseeing the IFSB’s development of standards that will change the face of Islamic finance. Over the last two years, the IFSB has been developing standards for risk management, capital adequacy and corporate governance. This year, work on a standard for supervisory review processes and one for transparency and market discipline are expected to begin.

At the Summit, Dr. Rifaat is expected to update the industry on these efforts and give his views on the future development of Islamic finance, particularly the need for global standards in risk management, supervision and corporate governance. He has also been invited to join panel discussions with former US Vice President Al Gore.

IKBAL DAREDIA
Deputy CEO, Noriba Bank (a member of the UBS Group)

UBS, Switzerland’s largest financial-services group, is perhaps the most ambitious among Western banks in the Islamic banking market. It is the only Western institution to have a 100 percent Syariah-compliant bank in the Gulf region, while other international banks have an Islamic banking option within the mainstream operations. In 2002, UBS opened Noriba Bank, based in Bahrain, to serve wealthy individuals and institutions that seek financial products complying with Islamic principles. Noriba believes that this market is underserved and requires a similar range of products and services available in the mainstream marketplace.

In his keynote address to the Summit, Mr. Ikbal Daredia, who is Deputy CEO of Noriba, will update the industry on Noriba’s progress and plans, significant developments in the Islamic banking market and his views on the future development of Islamic financial services. Mr. Daredia has more than 28 years of banking experience, of which the last 16 years have been in Islamic banking. Before joining Noriba, he was Division Head for Global Islamic Financial Services at ABN AMRO Bank and Head of Islamic Banking at the Arab Investment Company, Bahrain. He is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, England.

MOHAMAD NEDAL ALCHAAR
Secretary General, Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI)

Dr. Mohamad Nedal Alchaar heads one of the most established standards-setting body in the Islamic financial-services industry. The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Services (AAOIFI), based in Bahrain, was set up in 1991 to find Syariah-compliant adaptations of international standards. Today, AAOIFI has issued 57 standards for accounting, auditing, governance, ethics and Syariah interpretation. These standards have been implemented in Islamic banking centres such as Bahrain, Jordan, Malaysia, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Dubai, where they are either used as regulatory guidelines or are mandatory. AAOIFI has 113 members from 25 countries.

Dr. Alchaar believes that internationally accepted standards are important because they will help the Islamic finance industry to “realise the full benefits of accurate and transparent financial reporting, and fulfill its mission of bringing credible solutions to the masses”. Dr. Alchaar was previously Director of Market Performance Analysis at Fannie Mae and Vice President of Johnson & Higgins in Washington, D.C, a large insurance brokerage firm. He has also trained and advised the staff of Dubai Financial Market and Abu Dhabi Securities Market. He is the author of numerous books and articles on banking, finance and interest rates. Dr. Alchaar will deliver a special presentation at the Summit and will discuss key developments in accounting practices and corporate governance for Islamic financial institutions.

DR. YAHIA ABDUL-RAHMAN
Chairman and CEO, Bank of Whittier and Founder of American Finance House-Lariba

“A small-town banker with a good heart” is how USA Today describes Dr. Yahia Abdul-Rahman, who founded the famous American Finance House-Lariba in 1987. Last year, Dr. Abdul-Rahman shifted his focus to the Bank of Whittier, a full-service commercial bank serving the community of Whittier in Southern California. He is currently the chairman and CEO of the bank and has plans to expand its services to 49 states in the US, where there is a burgeoning demand for Islamic financial services such as Syariah-compliant home loans, mutual funds, car financing and other facilities.

Dr. Abdul-Rahman is a Muslim scholar or imam and has worked as a private banker at Shearson Lehman, which has evolved into Citigroup Smith Barney today, where he underwrote Muslim mosques and schools. His most outstanding accomplishment is establishing American Finance House-Lariba to offer interest-free mortgages. He started Lariba by pooling $200,000 from 20 Muslim investors, enough for one mortgage. It eventually became a profitable proposition and today, secondary-mortgage institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchase Lariba’s mortgages for repackaging. At the Summit, Dr. Abdul-Rahman will speak about the operations and infrastructure necessary for running a successful Islamic finance business.

RIYAD AL DUGHAITHER
Group Chief Risk Officer, Arab Banking Corporation

Arab Banking Corporation is one of the largest financial-services groups from the Middle East, with operations in more than 30 countries offering services ranging from wholesale commercial banking to Islamic financial services and trade finance. Its Syariah-compliant services include Morabaha (credit sale), Musharaka (profit sharing), Bai-Al-Salam (sale with future delivery), Al-Qard-Al-Hassan (benevolent loan), Ijara (leasing) and Istisna'a (pre-manufacturing finance). Mr. Riyad Al Dughaither is at the helm of the risk management team in this sprawling institution. At the Summit, he will discuss the issues surrounding risk management for Islamic banks. Mr. Al Dughaither’s experience includes establishing a range of award-winning mutual funds, syndicated lending and other investment banking activities in the US and Middle East. He is also a member of the International Institute of Finance’s Steering Committee on Regulatory Capital.

TOBY FIENNES
Manager for the Middle East and Europe Group, Wholesale Firms Division, Financial Services Authority (UK)

The UK is one of the Western world’s most developed financial markets for Islamic banking and has evolved relatively sophisticated regulatory frameworks to accommodate a growing Islamic-finance industry. Mr. Toby Fiennes will speak about the Financial Services Authority’s experience in creating and implementing a regulatory framework for Islamic financial institutions in a non-Islamic jurisdiction. He will also speak about risk management in Islamic finance. Mr. Fiennes oversees the supervision of 50 Middle Eastern and European banking groups in London. He was previously at Barclays Bank and the Bank of England. He has taken a keen interest in Islamic banking, sits on three technical working groups for the Islamic Financial Services Board and leads the FSA's work on the subject.

WAFIK GRAIS
Senior Adviser, Financial Sector, Global Partnership Group, the World Bank

Dr. Wafik Grais is currently involved in issues of corporate governance, the impact of the emergence of the Islamic finance industry on the stability and development of financial systems, policy diagnostics of financial systems, and the experience with distressed banks, especially in the Middle East and North Africa. Dr. Grais managed country programmes at the World Bank for a number of years, while continuing to write on economic and financial policy issues. He has managed the IBRD economic policy, dialogue and lending activities with the former Yugoslavia, and then with the countries of North Africa. In the 1990s, he represented the Government of Egypt to help establish the Bank for Cooperation and Development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA BANK), being involved in formulating the operational and financial policies of the bank. Dr. Grais co-authored the World Bank working paper “Regulating Islamic Financial Institutions: The Nature of the Regulated”, which was published in March 2004. He will be at the Summit to present some of the findings and his thoughts on regulatory approaches to Islamic finance in non-Islamic jurisdictions.

MUHAMMAD SALEEM UMER
Chief Executive, Institute of Bankers Pakistan

Mr. Muhammad Saleem Umer, brings with him over three decades of experience in the field of banking, finance, human resource development and management. Before assuming the role of CEO at The Institute of Bankers Pakistan (IBP), he was serving at National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF), a subsidiary of the central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan, as Acting Managing Director, Director General and head of Karachi Campus.

As the CEO of the Institute of Bankers Pakistan, he steers a knowledge institute catering to the needs of the financial sector, corporations, universities, government bodies, professional associations and financial sector phpirants. The organisation is a certification body, training institute, human resource consultant, and supporter of universities, business school and publishing house. It is actively pursuing international linkages and collaborations which are increasingly materialising into effective partnerships.

DAVID VICARY (DAUD ABDULLAH)
Director, Financial Services, Deloitte Malaysia

Mr. David Vicary, also known as Daud Abdullah, has led efforts to transform financial institutions throughout the world, ranging from core systems implementation to process improvement and cultural change. In recent years, his focus has been on Islamic finance projects and has helped to implement an Islamic banking model in a mainstream financial institution. Mr. Vicary is also a member of the board of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). At the Summit, he will moderate substantive discussions on regulating Islamic banks and operations within Islamic financial institutions.

PAUL DODD
Principal Management Consultant - Banking Sector Specialist, Misys International Banking Systems

Mr. Paul Dodd has spent 35 years in the banking industry, 22 of which was at Barclays Bank Group in various roles including audit, treasury management consultancy and product management. He has been based in the Middle East for the last six years and manages Misys’ core retail solutions. Based in Dubai, he works closely with banks in the region with a focus on introducing product management and reengineering processes to improve customer service while reducing costs. At the Summit, Mr. Dodd will speak about necessary systems and infrastructure for Islamic banking operations.

PAUL McNAMARA
Managing Editor, Banker Middle East and Publisher of Islamic Finance and Business

Paul McNamara is a founding partner of CPI Financial in Dubai, publisher of Islamic Finance and Business magazine, and managing editor of Banker Middle East.
He has also recenlty published a book called “Qatar Takes Off for CPI Financial”.
Mr. McNamara was the publishing director responsible for the launch of Islamic Finance Weekly in London and he oversaw the publication of several high-end Islamic finance textbooks. He has worked all over the world in the publishing sphere, starting at the Financial Times in London before moving to Fairfax Business Publishing in Australia. After a period publishing Asia-Inc magazine in Singapore, he moved back to London to launch Islamic Finance Weekly and is now resident in Dubai. Mr. McNamara will moderate several sessions at the Summit’s Islamic Banking Conference.