Norkom Technologies has today announced that Al Hilal Bank, a government-owned Islamic bank based in the United Arab Emirates, has selected its market-leading financial crime and compliance solutions in a deal that marks Norkom's second Islamic bank client and fourth major deal in the Middle East region over the last 12 months. The contract was signed during the Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission to the United Arab Emirates led by the Irish Minister for Trade, Mr. Billy Kelleher, T.D.
Al Hilal Bank, which was formed in June 2008, will implement Norkom's award-winning Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Watch List Management (WLM) solutions across its operations in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Dubai to comply with increasing national and international regulations.
According to Al Hilal's Head of Compliance, "At Al Hilal Bank, we take issues of money laundering and terrorist financing very seriously. We are committed to improving our defenses against these forms of financial crimes, as well as maintaining the highest standards of compliance with local and global regulations. Having evaluated the financial crime and compliance marketplace very carefully and spoken to a number of financial institutions in the Middle East, we were convinced that Norkom was the right partner with which to establish a long-term relationship - one that will protect us against the financial and reputational risks that are associated with financial crimes and changing regulations".
Norkom's advanced AML software will help Al Hilal Bank to monitor and analyze transactions and customer interaction across its entire customer base to identify and investigate suspicious and criminal behavior. Through superior matching techniques, Norkom's WLM solution will automatically alert Al Hilal Bank if any entity attempting to transact with it is listed on any of the industry's numerous and diverse watch lists, enhancing the bank's defenses and protecting it from exposure to sanctions and from inadvertently conducting business with known or suspected criminals and terrorists.
"We're delighted to welcome Al Hilal Bank, our second Islamic banking client, to our growing client base," explains Liam Griffin, Norkom's Chief Commercial Officer. "Over the last 12 months since we entered the Middle East, we have won four major deals because of our ongoing commitment to the market. No matter where we go in the world or how far we internationalize, one thing remains consistent - our approach to clients. We strive to provide our clients with best-of-breed technologies and expertise in global financial crime and compliance, as well as superior customer service - and in return we receive unparalleled customer referenceability of a calibre that can't be bought".
Islamic banking, a sharia-compliant law which prohibits interest, is a fast-growing, highly competitive worldwide phenomenon estimated to be a $1 trillion industry, with conventional banks now entering its domain.