Today banks make most of their profits from retail banking. Investors approve, rating retail  profits more highly than those from the more volatile business of corporate and wholesale banking. This global enthusiasm for retail banking, which began some 25 years ago in countries such as the US, the UK and some continental European countries, is now evident throughout the Middle East, South Asia and the North African nations.

Today banks make most of their profits from retail banking. Investors approve, rating retail  profits more highly than those from the more volatile business of corporate and wholesale banking. This global enthusiasm for retail banking, which began some 25 years ago in countries such as the US, the UK and some continental European countries, is now evident throughout the Middle East, South Asia and the North African nations. As a result, local retail banks are developing rapidly – and major foreign players from North America, Western Europe and Asia are entering these markets, typically through acquisitions.

With a core focus on the oil-rich Middle East gulf states, this fascinating and diverse region stretches West across North Africa and East through South Asia. It embraces a population of some 1.5 billion mainly young people – many of whom work as expatriates in the gulf. No matter how you look at it, MENASA is a massive market for retail banking, wealth management and payments like remittance services.

This process, together with the war for talent, is creating enormous demand from senior bankers with knowledge and expertise of retail banking best practices and industry trends and issues. This was the background to the creation of the Retail Banking Council for MENASA, a membership group for senior executives in retail banking throughout this exciting region.

The Council focuses on all areas of retail banking and consumer finance including:

Islamic Banking & Financial Services – How can banks realize the potential of Islamic Banking, from its traditional hubs and beyond? How can banks develop a strong brand and compete on a national and international level?

Profitability, pricing & expense management – How can profitability be measured? What can be learnt from the pricing strategies of others around the world?

Distribution – Single or Multi-Channel: what is the optimum approach? How can successful segmentation strategies be implemented?

Branch Management – What are the new concepts in branch banking and how can they be implemented? Are alliances with post offices and retailers the key to growth?

Competition Regulation – What investigations are regulators in the region undertaking?

Retailers in Financial Services – A Threat or Opportunity?

Credit Cards & Consumer Finance – How can banks build a profitable cards business? What are the best strategies for customer acquisition and retention? What is the potential for prepaid cards?

Mortgages – What are the margins and the risks? 

Payments – From mobile to remittances: what are the latest developments?

Deposit-taking – How can alternative channels be used?

Mutual Funds & Securities – When is the right time to offer clients securities? How should they be priced?

Private & Premier Banking – How can banks achieve successful segmentation? What are the strategies for customer acquisition?

Small Business Banking – What is the potential of the small business sector?

Sales & Marketing – How can banks transform the branch into a thriving sales environment? What lessons can be learnt from Europe and Asia?

Insurance & Bancassurance – Understanding the Bancassurance model: what lessons can be learnt from Europe and Asia?

E-finance – What are the latest breakthroughs in e-finance?