Excellence in Financial Education

Knowledge Library


Research Paper:  Digital Transformation of Banking and Financial Institutions in the UAE: Understanding the Common Challenges for Collective Action

Authors: Dr. Thouraya Gherissi Labben, Mr. Johan Burger, Dr. Gurdal Ertek, and Dr. Tariq Elrazaz from the College of Business and Economics at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU)

An analysis of the current landscape of the digital transformation of banking and financial institutions in the UAE and the common challenges faced.

 

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Article Series:  Quantum Computing – Preparing for the Most Complex Upgrade Ever: It’s About Time!

Abu Dhabi Global Market Academy (ADGMA) Research Centre (in partnership with ADIA Lab, Imperial College London and Nanyang Technological University) hosted a three-day conference, Quantum Computing for Finance, gathering nearly 300 leading experts from the financial sector, quantum technology firms and academia from around the world.
While there are many expected positives from quantum computing, there are also several challenges. One of the conference speakers, Dimitri van Esch, Chair & Founder of Quantum Gateway Foundation and former Quantum Lead at ABN Amro, believes that a move to quantum computing will be the most complex upgrade ever undertaken. And time is of the essence. The ADGMA Research Centre sat down to discuss this with Dimitri.

 

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Article Series:  A Brief on Data and AI

As part of our ADGMA Research Centre Insights Series, we are publishing adapted articles from amongst our strategic collaborators. This article on data and artificial intelligence is republished with the kind permission of the Asia School of Business (ASB). Authored by Sanjay Sarma, CEO, President and Dean of ASB, and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the Sloan School of Management at MIT, along with Shien Jin Ong, Professor of Practice at ASB and Satish Viswanathan, Advisory Board member of the AI Observatory at ASB and a Managing Director at Accenture Strategy & Consulting.

 

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Article Series:  What is sustainable finance and why does it matter?

As part of our ADGMA Research Centre Insights Series, we are publishing adapted articles from amongst our strategic collaborators. This article is republished with the kind permission of Imperial College Business School, IB Knowledge. Marcin Kacperczyk, Professor of Finance at Imperial College London, provides insights on the challenges and opportunities of sustainable finance.

 

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Article Series:  CBDCs, Stablecoins and Alternative Emerging Payment Solutions on the Money Ecosystem

As part of our ADGMA Research Centre Insights Series, we are publishing adapted articles from amongst our strategic collaborators. This article is republished with the kind permission of FNA. Carlos León, Director of FMIs & Digital Currency Solutions at FNA and a Fellow Researcher at Tilburg University, and José Moreno, Senior Data Scientist at FNA, provide a comprehensive exploration of the evolving landscape of digital currencies. With a foreword by Dmitry Fedotov, Head of DLT Foundations Oversight at ADGM, the article not only recognizes the transformative potential of emerging digital assets, but also delves in the associated uncertainties and risks.

 

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Article Series:  CBDCs: Should the end-user shape the future of money?

As part of our ADGMA Research Centre Insights Series, we are publishing adapted articles from amongst our strategic collaborators. This article is republished with the kind permission of FNA. Carlos León, Director of FMIs & Digital Currency Solutions at FNA, shares his thoughts on retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and suggests that end-user’s needs and capabilities be kept firmly in mind.

 

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Event Report:  FinCrime Compliance Series Q2 2023 Wrap-up

The inaugural FinCrime Compliance Series hosted by the ADGM Academy Research Centre brought together the UAE’s financial crime compliance ecosystem including government, banks, regulators, academics, training providers, consultants, technology providers and more. The event, the first in a series, aims to discuss common challenges and identify solutions to help make the UAE financial sector stronger and safer. This brief provides an overview of the event and the key takeaways.

 

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Article Series:  Future of Money: Monetary revolution or evolution?

Speculation abounds on how new digital technologies will alter money and payments, with a great deal of emphasis placed on cryptocurrencies, blockchain and decentralised finance. Peter Ware, Head of Research & Development at the ADGM Academy Research Centre, sat down with Professor Alistair Milne, Loughborough University, and Ronit Ghose, Head of Future of Finance Research, Citi, to discuss their views on money and the drivers of change.

 

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Article Series:  Limits of Green Finance: A Literature Survey in the Context of Green Bonds and Green Loans

In 2021 Professor David Gilchrist and Dr. Rui Zhong from UWA Business School, The University of Western Australia, and Dr. Jing Yu from The University of Sydney Business School, published a systemic literature survey on the factors and potential benefits of corporate engagement in environmentally responsible practices in the context of green bonds and green loans. In response to the rapid development of green finance the ADGM Academy Research Centre engaged Dr. Yu to write a summary of the research.

 

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Article Series:  Sustainability Assurance: Understanding the variations in scope of engagements

The disclosure of non-financial information in the form of sustainability reports and integrated reports is now a globally established practice. The ADGM Academy Research Centre is pleased to publish a series of articles by Associate Professor Muhammad Bilal Farooq on the key issues related to the assurance of non-financial reports, such as sustainability reports and integrated reports, also referred to as sustainability assurance. This fourth and final article in the series provides a detailed discussion on the key differences in the scope of non-financial information assurance engagements.

 

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Article Series:  Sustainability Assurance: Examining the impact of assurance disclosure credibility

The disclosure of non-financial information in the form of sustainability reports and integrated reports is now a globally established practice. The ADGM Academy Research Centre is pleased to publish a series of articles by Associate Professor Muhammad Bilal Farooq on the key issues related to the assurance of non-financial reports, such as sustainability reports and integrated reports, also referred to as sustainability assurance. This third article examines whether sustainability assurance enhances disclosure credibility and if so how and to what extent.

 

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Article Series:  Open Banking to Open Finance: Lessons learned and opportunities for the UAE

The ADGM Academy Research Centre invited Professor Markos Zachariadis from the Alliance Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester, who holds the Chair in Financial Technology and Information Systems and Barry West, Senior Manager, Applied Innovation & Research at the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to discuss what lessons can be applied from Open Banking to the future of Open Finance in the UAE financial sector.

 

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Article Series:  Sustainability Assurance: How assurers overcome barriers to adoption of non-financial information assurance

The disclosure of non-financial information in the form of sustainability reports and integrated reports is now a globally established practice. The ADGM Academy Research Centre is pleased to publish a series of articles by Associate Professor Muhammad Bilal Farooq on the key issues related to the assurance of non-financial reports, such as sustainability reports and integrated reports, also referred to as sustainability assurance. This second article examines some of the tactic’s assurers use to overcome barriers to stimulate the demand for external assurance of non-financial information.

 

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Article Series:  Sustainability Assurance: Examining Drivers And Inhibitors Of Non-financial Information Assurance

The disclosure of non-financial information in the form of sustainability reports and integrated reports is now a globally established practice. Most jurisdictions across the world encourage, either through stock exchange listing requirements or through legislation, the need for companies to provide information on their non-financial performance. However, these disclosures are often criticised for failing to offer a credible account of the reporter’s sustainability performance. To address this criticism many reporters voluntarily secure third-party assurance over their disclosures.

 

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Article Series:  Examining the Potential of Technologies to Support Sustainability and Integrated Reporting

Sustainability reporting is now an established global practice. Regulatory agencies and stock exchanges around the world require companies to disclose information on their sustainability performance. Meeting reporting requirements presents many challenges for companies. Advances in information technology, including artificial intelligence and big data analytics, offer useful tools in preparing and assuring sustainability reports. The ADGM Academy Research Centre is pleased to publish this article by Associate Professor Muhammad Bilal Farooq, UAE University and PhD candidate Kashif Nadeem, University of Chieti-Pescara based on their keynote talk at the 2022 European SDG Summit.

 

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Article Series:  Banks are Already Considering Climate Change in Their Lending Decisions

As part of the ADGMA Research Centre Article Series we are publishing adapted articles from amongst our strategic collaborators. This article is republished with the kind permission of Imperial College Business School, IB Knowledge.  It follows our own research into how artificial intelligence can improve lending decisions to SMEs. With this article by Dr. Mandeep Singh, we share another view on factors impacting banks’ lending decisions.  New research shows larger banks are lending less to small farms affected by abnormally high temperatures, with potentially huge repercussions for a large portion of the world’s population.

 

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Research Paper: Digital Payments in the UAE

Author: Jayaprada Putrevu and Muna Al Suwaidi from Abu Dhabi University
and Salwa Al Breiki from the Abu Dhabi School of Management

The ADGM Academy Research Centre commissioned a team of university student researchers to explore the emergence and importance of digital payments in the UAE economy

 

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Article Series: Federated Machine Learning and its Application in the Finance Industry

The ADGM Academy Research Centre sat down with Professor Duan, Head of the Asian Institute of Digital Finance, at the National University of Singapore and Richard Hills, Associate Managing Director at K2 Integrity, based in Abu Dhabi, to explore potential applications of federated learning in the financial industry while taking a broader view on the evolution of technology and some of the barriers to adoption of innovative solutions.

 

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Research Paper: Artificial Intelligence to Enhance the SME Ecosystem in the UAE

Author: Dr. Nihel Chabrak, ADGM Academy and The Deep Credit
Analytics Team, Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF), National University of Singapore

An analysis on how big data and AI can be leveraged to develop a more informative credit model to support the UAE SME ecosystem and drive improved decision making about lending to SMEs.

 

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Research Paper:  The Global COVID-19 FinTech Market Impact and Industry Resilience Study

Author: Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF),
University of Cambridge, Judge Business School with the World Bank
and the World Economic Forum

An assessment of the medium-to-longer-term impact of COVID-19 on the FinTech
industry and includes issues such as the customer base of these firms and their potential impact on financial inclusion.

 

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Research Paper:  FinTech Regulation in the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF),
University of Cambridge, Judge Business School

A review of how MENA jurisdictions have responded to the opportunities
and challenges associated with FinTech and digital financial services through
regulatory efforts, processes, and innovation.

 

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