Key Highlights at WIBC 2009

The Black Swan at WIBC 2009
Keynote Plenary Address:
Debt and Black Swans by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

"Globalization creates interlocking fragility, while reducing volatility and giving the appearance of stability. In other words it creates devastating Black Swans. We have never lived before under the threat of a global collapse. Financial Institutions have been merging into a smaller number of very large banks. Almost all banks are interrelated. So the financial ecology is swelling into gigantic, incestuous, bureaucratic banks - when one fails, they all fall. The increased concentration among banks seems to have the effect of making financial crisis less likely, but when they happen they are more global in scale and hit us very hard.
We have moved from a diversified ecology of small banks, with varied lending policies, to a more homogeneous framework of firms that all resemble one another. True, we now have fewer failures, but when they occur ...I shiver at the thought."

A quote from "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable"



The WIBC Competitiveness Report 2009/10

A critical reference source for industry
decision makers, providing strategic insights
from McKinsey & Company.

The WIBC Competitiveness Report has over the last 6 years become an indispensable reference resource for the industry decision-makers. The analysis and insights provided in this  year's  report will  be  even
 
more critical as it comes at a juncture when the industry is facing tremendous challenges  due to the on-going turbulence in the international financial markets. The eagerly anticipated report will reflect detailed research focused on raising the bar of financial performance and strategic excellence in the industry as well as point towards key directions emerging in the post-crisis landscape.




WIBC 2009 will feature a fully-fledged Bahrain pavilion hosted by BAB and the UK Pavilion hosted by UKTI. The pavilions will showcase the leading institutions in these countries.


The MAS Governor will also lead a delegation of prominent officials and industry players from Singapore who will showcase their capabilities at the Singapore pavilion at WIBC 2009.



Country Focus Roundtable
The Country Focus Roundtable will feature experts representing new growth markets for Islamic financial services with a special focus on Japan, Italy, France, Bahrain, India and China. A series of informal discussion roundtables will also focus on major issues facing the Islamic finance industry. Industry leaders will engage in a selection of stimulating topics, in an environment conducive to the open exchange of ideas.