Dubai, April 10 (NNN-WAM) The 3rd Financial Technology (FT) Summit and Exhibition will take place in Dubai on April 23-25 under the theme "Bank of the Future".

The summit is organized by the Dubai based World Development Forum, and is aiming at discussing the major challenges facing the Arab banking sector. It will host CEOs & Senior IT decision makers of the Top 100 Arab banks & central banks in the region.

This year's agenda will focus on core issues including IT governance, regulatory & compliance, aligning IT & business strategies, next generation banking platforms, high performing operating models and organizations, and achieving quality through IT services management.

The event will also discuss the most pressing issues related to anti-money laundering , as it represents one of the most serious challenges that necessitates further investments in technology by the Arab Banking sector.

UAE Minister of State for Finance and Industry, Dr Mohamed Khalfan bin Kharbash cited the increasing need for coordinated efforts among Arab countries to achieve the optimum utilization of modern technological solutions in enhancing the performance of the banking sector which capitalized on the recent economic and social developments as well as the abundant liquidity.

"There is no doubt that we are in dire need for organized scientific efforts to support our knowledge base, especially if the matter is related to one of the most sensitive and important issues today," he said.

"Investing in technologies is no more a luxury, it is rather a need dictated by the nature of the new economy, and an invaluable strategic option," he added.

The minister emphasized the importance of technology in combating money laundry. He cited a recent study which concluded that any given money laundering for US$5 billion results in US$5.63 billion to US$11.26 billion of Gross Domestic Production (GDP) losses.

The study also claims that such amount would result in the loss of 125,000 to 250,000 jobs in the national economy.

"Studies rank money laundry as the biggest challenge facing the financial industry and the global economy at large as it represents 5% of Worldwide GDP, or more than US$1 trillion annually according to the reports of the international committee for combating money laundry," said Dr. Kharbash.

"These are staggering figures, especially if we take into consideration its negative impact on the national economies, as well as security and the society," he remarked expressing his hopes that this year's FT Summit would succeed in benefiting from the technological advancements to eliminate these dangers.