24th February 2021, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain | The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), the global umbrella of Islamic financial institutions, successfully kicked-off the first online Technical Workshop of 2021. The online technical workshop on “Stress Testing for Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs)” will run for two days and will be delivered in Arabic language.

Stress testing is an important practice to determine the ability of a given financial instrument or financial institution to deal with crises. The process involves probing situations that reveal how the institutions would respond in a series of worst-case scenarios. CIBAFI Technical Workshop seeks to enhance the participants’ understanding of stress testing and guide them in the practical application of issues addressed in the stress test standards. It also aims to discuss how the existing stress-testing methodology would help institutions prepare for the wide range of potential financial shocks that could be triggered by climate-related factors.

During the workshop, the participants will get in depth understanding of stress scenarios and how banks integrate stress testing in their business using a wide range of case studies and exercises. The sessions will be facilitated by experts in the industry including Mr. Hussain Abdulhaq, Head of Treasury & Capital Markets, Al Salam Bank, Bahrain; Mr. Abozer Magzoub Mohamed, Senior Islamic Finance Specialist, Islamic Finance Advisory & Technical Assistant, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB); Mr. Abdulkareem Ersan Sukkari, Chief Risk Officer, Islamic International Arab Bank, Jordan; and Mr. Abdullah Haron, Senior Financial Sector Expert and IF Expert, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In her opening remarks, Mrs. Zainab Hassan Al Owainaty, Director - Administration and Finance of CIBAFI welcomed all participants and highlighted CIBAFI’s commitment to continue organising timely and relevant workshops to provide platform for knowledge sharing and capacity building within the Islamic financial services industry (IFSI).

CIBAFI Technical Workshops are aligned with CIBAFI’s third objective of Training and Professional Empowerment which endeavors to enhance capacity building within the Islamic financial service industry (IFSI). These programmes are practical in nature and are targeted to staff of Islamic banks and Islamic financial institutions, regulators, and practitioners. They aim to engage participants in the discussion on the current environment of the Islamic banking industry.

CIBAFI, as the ‘voice’ of the industry, aims to provide high-level platforms to develop the human capital and bring industry professionals together to encourage dialogue and enhance knowledge sharing on most relevant matters to the IFSI.