GFMF, the annual conference organized by the Financial Markets Division of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), described as the Number One Bank in the UAE, will commence on Feb. 29 and concludes on March 1. Every year, GFMF focuses on addressing the most current and critical issues of the day.

The forum will begin by the keynote address by UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammed Gargash. Michael H. Tomalin, group chief executive of NBAD, will give the welcome address. Tomalin will also address the forum on March 1 and discuss the “UAE Market Fundamentals.”

Paul Volcker, former chairman of the US Federal Reserve System and economic advisor to US President Barack Obama, will follow Gargash and Tomalin with a keynote address titled “The Future of Global Financial Markets and the Impact of the Volcker Rule.”

Volcker will discuss his proposed financial reform rules that included restricting commercial banks from proprietary trading, which he called “speculative trading” because it adds an unnecessary layer of risk.

“Proprietary trading indirectly leads to conflicts of interest with bank customers, patterns of compensation and organizational culture out of keeping with traditional banking,” Volcker says during a recent discussion with GFMF organizers. “Commercial banks provide services essential to the economy —  maintaining its payments system, lending particularly to small and medium-sized businesses, and providing a safe depositary for liquid funds. Those banks are supported by access to the central bank, deposit insurance, and other assistance in time of need. That government (aid) amounts to an indirect subsidy by taxpayers. That subsidy should not be extended to proprietary (i.e. speculative) trading.”

Volcker adds: “Abu Dhabi and the GCC should be supportive of the efforts to reform the financial system that so sadly broke down after the boom years of the 1990’s and early 2000. The Arab nations can contribute to those efforts through membership in the IMF and other key international institutions, including financial support when required.”

Another keynote speaker at the forum is Axel Weber, president of Deutsche Bundesbank, the German Central Bank, and a member of European Central Bank Governing Council. Weber will focus on the challenges of euro in his speech titled “Eurozone Challenges and Opportunities: The Central Banker.” Weber will address the forum on March 1.

“2012 will be a challenging year for Europe and the Eurozone in particular,” Weber tells GFMF organizers. “Around the globe, the outlook for economic growth has deteriorated as the public sector, financial companies, and households in many advanced economies are retrenching simultaneously. At the same time, emerging market economies’ policy tightening, aimed at curbing inflationary pressures, is taking effect and has equally led to a reduction in regional growth prospects.