International Monetary Fund Managing Director to Address Islamic Financial Services Industry Stakeholders at 4th IFSB Summit

• Mr. Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will address key regulators, stakeholders and Islamic financial services industry players at the 4th IFSB Summit on 15 & 16 May 2007.

• The Keynote Address by Mr de Rato comes on the eve of positive global developments within the Islamic financial services industry and its growing integration in the global financial system, and is expected to pave the way for greater innovation and interaction amongst the industry’s segments, which could, in turn, have strong impact on the future approach to the supervision of Islamic financial services.

• Mr Jaime Caruana, Counsellor and Director of Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the IMF will also be speaking at the Summit.

Kuala Lumpur, March 5, 2007 – Mr. Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will address key regulators, stakeholders and Islamic financial services industry players at the 4th IFSB Summit on 15 & 16 May 2007.

Rodrigo de Rato assumed office as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund in June 2004. Prior to this appointment, he was the Vice President for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economy for the Government of Spain. In his capacity as Minister of Economy, Mr. de Rato was also Governor for Spain on the Boards of Governors of the IMF, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The Keynote Address by Mr de Rato comes on the eve of positive global developments within the Islamic financial services industry and its growing integration in the global financial system, and is expected to pave the way for greater innovation and interaction amongst the industry’s segments, which could, in turn, have strong impact on the future approach to the supervision of Islamic financial services.

The theme of the 4th IFSB Summit “The Need for a Cross-Sectoral Approach to the Supervision of Islamic Financial Services” is approriate given the role of the IMF in promoting global monetary and financial stability, as well as fostering the implementation of international standards in financial supervision. The IFSB serves as an international standard-setting body for the prudential supervision of Islamic financial services industry, complementing the work of the Basel Committee, IOSCO and IAIS. In line with it’s mandate, the IMF is an Associate Member of the IFSB and was instrumental in facilitating the IFSB’s establishment in 2002.

Mr Jaime Caruana, Counsellor and Director of Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the IMF will also be speaking at the Summit.

Mr Caruana is a Counsellor to the Managing Director of the IMF, and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the IMF. The Department is responsible for all aspects of the Fund’s financial, capital market, and monetary work. Prior to assuming this position, Mr. Caruana was the Governor of the Banco de España, Spain's central bank. He is also serving on the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, Chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and, in that capacity, a member of the Financial Stability Forum.

Mr. de Rato’s and Mr. Caruana’s views will be discussed and debated by over 350 Summit’s delegates and speakers, especially within the scope of Islamic financial services. The speakers of the Summit include among others, leading figures in supervisory authorities such as Governors of ten central banks across Asia, Middle East and Europe as well as the top executives from two securities and insurance regulatory authorities.

The Summit is expected to pull a high-level crowd of chief executives, managing directors and senior policy-makers from across the globe. Held at the Grand Hyatt Dubai, the Summit is hosted by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Other details of the Summit may be viewed at www.ifsbdubai2007.com

International Monetary Fund: The IMF is an international organization of 184 member countries. It was established to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and orderly exchange arrangements; to foster economic growth and high levels of employment; and to provide temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment. Since the IMF was established its purposes have remained unchanged but its operations - which involve surveillance, financial assistance, and technical assistance - have developed to meet the changing needs of its member countries in an evolving world economy.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), which is based in Kuala Lumpur, was officially inaugurated on 3rd November 2002 and started operations on 10th March 2003. It serves as an international-standard setting body of regulatory and supervisory agencies that have vested interest in ensuring the soundness and stability of the Islamic financial services industry, which is defined broadly to include banking, capital market and insurance. In advancing this mission, the IFSB promotes the development of a prudent and transparent Islamic financial services industry through introducing new, or adapting existing international standards consistent with Islamic Shari'ah principles, and recommend them for adoption.

The 110 members of the IFSB include 27 regulatory and supervisory authorities as well as International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Bank for International Settlements, Islamic Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, and 78 market players from 21 countries.

Media contact:
Siham Ismail
Islamic Financial Services Board
Email: siham@ifsb.org
Tel: 6 03 2698 4248 ext: 119
Fax: 6 03 2698 4280

This release was published on openPR.