Afreximbank Executive Vice President Amr Kamel speaking in Durban, South Africa
Compliance practitioners from financial institutions across Africa gathered in Durban, South Africa, from 6 to 7 November for the Afreximbank Compliance Forum hosted by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
Welcoming the participants, Amr Kamel, Afreximbank Executive Vice President in charge of Business Development and Corporate Banking, said that as the importance of compliance to organizations, economies and world trade had continued to grow, the Afreximbank Compliance Forum had been developed as an ideal platform for sharing international best practice and for networking by practitioners within Africa.
Mr. Kamel noted that international trade disputes, global sanctions, public perception of wrongdoing and greed had had significant economic and reputational impact on financial institutions and organizations, hence the need for compliance professionals in African financial institutions, corporate entities and regulatory institutions to constantly update themselves on contemporary compliance matters affecting the continent.
He said that the objective of the Forum was to empower the compliance professionals with tools for implementation of effective compliance programmes which would allow them to balance their business partnership roles and the need to maintain their watchdog function.
Proactive compliance teams must have the ability to work and constantly advise their organizations while also ensuring close relationship and active interaction with regulators in order to ensure understanding of the regulatory requirements on their organizations, added Mr. Kamel.
Earlier, Idrissa Diop, Director of Compliance at Afreximbank, told the participants that the Forum would empower them to conduct their responsibilities in a manner that would encourage their organizations to rely on them as business partners.
The 2019 Forum was the sixth in the annual series.
Participants pose with their certificates at the end of the Afreximbank Compliance Forum in Durban, South Africa.
