According to the UAE Banks Federation (UBF), UAE and US lenders are working to boost financial and banking ties, while the UAE works to make certain that its banks continue to follow global regulations closely.

These cooperative efforts were discussed at a high-level delegation in Abu Dhabi, hosted by UBF and led by US Treasury undersecretary Sigal Mandelker. The discussions included cybercrime, fraud and anti-money laundering (AML), among others.

Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, chairman of UBF, said: "A critical focus for us is tackling growing global threats such as money laundering and illicit financing, in order to effectively help create a fair, transparent and sustainable operating financial system.”

Mr Al Ghurair goes on to address the banking industry’s everchanging environment, due to FinTech revolutionising modern finance.

He said: “The banking and finance industry continues to experience ongoing disruption and transformational change. It has therefore become more important than ever for regulatory bodies to strike an important balance between cultivating innovation and mitigating risk.

"With this in mind, we continue to work closely with our international partners to ensure that all UAE-based banks operate in strong compliance with global regulations."

As The National reports, the executives present were: The federation's director-general, Jamal Saleh; Ala’a Eraiqat, chief executive of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank; André Sayegh, deputy group chief executive of FAB; Bernd Van Linder, chief executive of Commercial Bank of Dubai; Vince Cook, chief executive of National Bank of Fujairah; Peter England, chief executive of RAKBANK and Ahmed Abdelaal, executive vice president at Mashreq Bank.

The US delegation consisted of the US Treasury's deputy assistant secretary for public affairs, Seth Unger; senior adviser Ari Redbord; office Katherine Amlin; section chief Miad Maleki; senior counsellor Jessica Renier and the financial attaché to the UAE and Oman, Paul Khuri.