Euromoney Qatar Conference 2019 Draws to a Close, Commercial Bank Hosts Brett King

​Doha, Qatar: On Monday December 9th, Euromoney Qatar Conference 2019 drew to a close following two successful days of high-level discussions. As a lead sponsor of the annual conference, Commercial Bank hosted for the first time in Qatar, the author and futurist Brett King. The 8th edition of the conference was held under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.

 

At this year’s conference, the main focus was on the future of Qatar, and on how the small but resourceful and capital-rich Qatari economy is transforming its already sizeable role in the global economy to meet the new demands of 21st century business and finance. Panels were attended by financial and business leaders in addition to industry practitioners, investors and globally influential commentators at the forefront of digital transformation.

On the first day, Joseph Abraham, Group CEO at Commercial Bank, explored during a keynote interview the performance of the banking industry in Qatar in 2019, which according to him was a positive year for the country with strong fiscal and external buffers due to prudent macro economic management by the Government and a strong, well regulated and well capitalized banking sector. In regards to technology’s impact on the future of banks, Mr. Abraham views the application of technology as key to the future and the way banks interact with clients is rapidly changing due to technology. “Banks shouldn’t be complacent and instead embrace technology. There will be winners and losers, and banks that embrace technology will continue to prosper” he said.

On the second day of the conference, Brett King, hosted by Commercial Bank for the very first time in Qatar, shared with the audience his vision for Banking 4.0, an era he considers as “one where either your bank is embedded in your world via tech, or it no longer exists.” The bestselling author and award-winning speaker Brett King delivered an outstanding session on banking and digitization. Amidst high competition in the market and the global digital trend, King sees that banks need to be “technology savvy, technology first” to stay competitive, pointing out that “by 2025, you will get more advice on your money through your smartphone… through your technology than you ever get data from humans sitting in a bank office.”

 

During a panel on the future of banking, Dr. Leonie Lethbridge, EGM, Chief Operating Officer at Commercial Bank, discussed the role of banks in the worldwide digital revolution, stating that, “Delivering leading-edge solutions that meet customers’ needs by using the right technologies” is the way to face digital challenges. “Commercial Bank is following the right steps towards achieving this goal. We combine insights gained through analyzing data on our clients’ needs with great technology, to provide meaningful life solutions for our clients” she said.