HNB’s Managing Director and CEO, Jonathan Alles also a member of the ABA board of directors and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Dilshan Rodrigo will chair sessions and make presentations at the 35th Asian Bankers Association’s Annual General Meeting and Conference. To be held on November 15 and 16, in the Kurumba Resorts, Maldives, the conference attracts high level participation from all key banks in the Asia Pacific region.

Themed Banking in Asia: the next frontier, the meeting and conference will see country presentations made by esteemed ABA member banks on the economy and financial markets in their respective countries. They will also elaborate on specific programmes, projects, products and services that have benefitted their customer base and the communities they serve, which could be adapted or replicated by member banks from other countries.

Alles will chair the very first session titled Technology in Banking: The Next Wave, which will examine the potential impact of technology on banks and the probability of disruption in their particular business environment. They will deliberate on changes that need to do be done on existing business practices and re-define strategies for acquiring innovative capabilities to stay at the forefront of developing revolutionary propositions like smart data and analytics.

Rodrigo has been invited to share his perspectives on the subject ‘Risk Management Imperatives in the New World Order’ and will discuss how internal and external drivers of change would impact evolving risks in the financial services industry.

He will also share perspectives on how industry players can tailor their processes and draw from a diverse range of sources to identify, prioritize, understand and measure such emerging and evolving risks, while also making use of forward looking analyses to understand their impact, as well as elaborate on their thoughts on how industry players can ensure that they have appropriate monitoring and early warning indicators in place to manage and mitigate risks as they crystallize.

The ABA annual meetings and conferences have been very effective tools for bringing together top Asian bankers and for exchanging information and ideas among the members.

The two-day event is designed to provide a valuable platform for ABA members not only to meet and network with each other, but also to exchange views with invited speakers on current trends and developments in the regional and global markets that are expected to have a significant impact on the banking and financial sector of the region.

Around 200 very senior representatives from 80 banks hailing from 25 different Asian countries are expected to attend the November conference which also doubles up as ABA’s annual general meeting. A number of esteemed international speakers will participate in the event.

Photo caption: Jonathan Alles MD & CEO HNB (left) and Dilshan Rodrigo - Chief Operating Officer -HNB