17/04/2014 06:40 AST
A&Z Management Consultants, the Dubai-based business consulting, research and project management service providers, recently organised an exceptional international seminar, entitled ‘EMIR / Dodd-Frank Act - New Compliance Regulations to Mitigate Systemic Risk’.
The conference examined some critical economic issues, which will impact the financial sector in the near future. A&Z is committed to holding informatory sessions for the corporate sector on issues that affect businesses in the region.
With Dubai increasing its importance as a regional and international financial centre and economic power, the staging of the seminar in the emirate contributes to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai a global financial capital.
Held in Dubai, the seminar was attended by an audience comprising heads of treasury operation, compliance managers, internal audit professionals, chartered accountants and finance professionals.
The seminar focused on the important regulatory mechanisms that have been put in place with regard to the US legislation, the Dodd-Frank Act, along with the similar European regulations contained within the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). There was a particular focus on the impact of these two items of legislation on derivatives trading and markets within the GCC region.
The presentations were delivered by Karim Aziz and Bilal Hasanjee, who covered the EMIR and Dodd-Frank topics, respectively. The seminar was intended to brief attendees about the nature of regulatory requirements being published by both local and international regulators on different kinds of derivative products currently being traded by market participants.
Karim Aziz presented a working paper on “EMIR Regulatory Framework - Mitigation of Systemic Risk”, which discussed the regulatory compliance and included a briefing that compared the EU’s EMIR Regulation rules with the US Dodd-Frank Act legislation. Aziz further explained the differences between both the EU and the US regimes. He also shared information about the mandatory clearing and key compliance requirements.
Bilal Hasanjee delivered a presentation entitled “Dodd-Frank Act - US Regulatory View”, during which he reviewed Title VII of the Act - ‘Wall Street Transparency and Accountability’, defined ‘Swap’ as per the Title VII, and explained the segregation of swap activities. Hasanjee discussed the swap markets regulation, with subtopics such as impact on Middle East-based institutions, registration and regulation of swap dealers, capital and margin requirements. He also talked about the regulation of security-based swap markets, extraterritorial issues, and implications for GCC players.
Ahmed Al-Maqtari, a leading finance professional, briefly commented on the both the EMIR and Dodd-Frank acts and emphasised the need for a timely implementation by relevant market participants.
Speaking about the event, Mohammed Ahmed Khan, Director of Business Development for A&Z Management Consultants, stated: “The seminar delved into some complex issues for derivative traders, and attempted to make them more comprehensible for the attendees. The reality is that understanding requirements related to global regulatory mechanisms with regard to derivatives is an extremely complex and specialised subject, which very few people fully understand.”
The Gulf Today
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