Richard Melson

February 2006

http://www.meftec.com

For immediate release

February 4, 2006

International and regional banking experts to

probe key industry issues at MEFTEC 2006

An unrivalled line-up of over 40 senior bankers from leading regional and international financial institutions will address a range of key banking industry issues at MEFTEC 2006, the second edition of the Middle East’s largest financial services event, being held under the patronage of H.E. Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, Governor, Bahrain Monetary Agency, from 13-15 February 2006 in Bahrain.

Held under the theme "Moving from Technological Possibilities to Top-line Growth," this year’s conference aims to show how banks can discover new sources of revenue by harvesting the inherent potential of technology.

"Financial institutions in the Middle East face a unique set of challenges as they become engaged in global competition and struggle to maintain local customers," says Joseph DiVanna, MEFTEC conference chairman. "With the financial resources to start a new wave of financial services and without the old fashioned and inefficient business processes of their western counterparts, Middle Eastern financial services organisations are well placed to leapfrog the West and become leaders in the twenty-first century."

"The conference will inform financial services executives on how to align their IT resources proactively with partners to leverage the power of technology in new ways."

Featured speakers for this year’s conference include Michael Hanlon, CEO, Islamic Bank of Britain; Zareen Aziz, CEO, First Women Bank Ltd; R Seetharaman, General Manager, Doha Bank Ltd; Rashid Daoudi, Acting General Manager, Jordan National Bank and Abdul Razzak Al Qasim, General Manager, National Bank of Bahrain. In addition, outstanding contributions are also drawn from Banque Saudi Al Fransi, Banque Misr, Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait, Gulf Bank, Union National Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar, Dubai Islamic Bank, National Bank of Kuwait, Bank of Alexandria, Citigroup and American Express.

"In order to meet the needs of senior executives from both the business and technology domains, the 2006 MEFTEC conference is built around two streams of knowledge: strategy and technology," according to Paul Stott, Managing Director of Media Generation Group plc, the event organisers. "With six dynamic conference sessions spread out over three days and constituting 32 hours of content, the conference offers a comprehensive coverage of the industry's hottest issues, such as engaging the business with technology solutions; designing and delivering new products; developing a customer centric bank; streamlining operations while building capabilities; developing strategies for compliance and business continuity; and providing Islamic Banking services to non-Muslims – and much more besides!"

The prestigious conference, produced by Media Generation in strategic partnership with the Bahrain Monetary Agency and the Bahrain Convention & Exhibition Bureau, runs alongside the region’s largest financial technology exhibition featuring over 100 technology vendors from 23 countries and showcasing a broad spectrum of solutions for back-office operations, front-office processes, enterprise application integration, customer management, business intelligence, communications, risk management, security, payment systems and outsourcing.

The impressive roster of MEFTEC 2006 sponsors includes Microsoft Corporation, ProgressSoft, HP, Batelco, Bahrain Economic Development Board, Misys, Tata Consultancy Services, LogicaCMG, Lightspeed Communications, 2Connect, Temenos, i-flex Solutions Ltd, ITS, VeriSign, Thales e-Security, Sybase, Polaris, Nucleus Software and Naizak. Key media supporting the event are The Banker, IBS, FX&MM and Bobsguide.

For more information on MEFTEC,

visit the official show website http://www.meftec.com.

Notes to Editors:

The Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA), the Kingdom of Bahrain's central bank, has sole statutory responsibility for the regulation of the financial industry, which comprises banking, insurance and the capital market. The Agency currently regulates a total of 367 institutions, of which 189 are banks and banking-related institutions, 165 insurance and insurance-related firms and 13 capital market brokers. BMA is currently implementing a new strategic plan, aimed at further strengthening Bahrain's position as the leading international financial centre in the region and enhancing the financial industry's contribution to Bahrain's economy.

For more information on BMA, please visit http://www.bma.gov.bh

or contact BMA Public Relations on +973 17 547609.

Media Generation Exhibitions Ltd, part of the UK-based Media Generation Group plc, is a multi-channel media company. Its management team has a cumulative total of over 100 years experience in organizing shows in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, the Americas, the former Soviet Union and Asia.

For more information on Media Generation,

please visit http://www.mediageneration.co.uk

or contact Paul Stott on +44 (0) 1423 810 547.

The Bahrain Convention & Exhibition Bureau (BCEB) is a government agency operating under the umbrella of the Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Kingdom of Bahrain. The main role of BCEB is to promote Bahrain as a world-class destination for international conventions, association and corporate meetings, exhibitions and trade shows. The operation and administration of the largest exhibition and convention venue in Bahrain - Bahrain International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) - is also under BCEB's remit. In addition, BCEB organizes a number of specialized exhibitions and conferences, independently or in association with leading international organizers.

For more information on BCEB, please visit http://www.bahrainexhibitions.com

or contact Pete Phoolsuwan at BCEB Public Relations on +973 17 558810.

Issued on behalf of Media Generation by Gulf Hill & Knowlton.

For more information contact Jamil Alsharif on:

Tel: +973 17 533532, Fax: +973 17533370.

MEFTEC