The banking and financial services sectors play an especially pivotal role in the implementation and enforcement of corporate governance principles in the region because they provide the primary means of business financing. First, banks must improve their own governance, transparency, and adherence to the twelve international standards for financial institution stability. Then they must transmit those practices to their clients by using corporate governance tools to better assess risk factors in loan and investment decision.

Hawkamah aims to encourage participation into the ROSC process and subsequent updates, assess key challenges faced by the banking system regarding Basle and BIS, and reach out to accountants and auditors, as well as business, trade, and professional associations through workshops and seminars. In addition, the development of regulations to implement corporate governance principles for the banking system and the development of ancillary regulations to corporate clients (key is to develop a core set of principles that are not onerous to corporate sector) are critical components of Hawkamah's program to improve corporate governance in banks and financial institutions. Hawkamah intends to initiate the development of a companies house, credit rating agencies, and central credit reporting organizations. Finally, the institute will hold bank supervisor training on implementing corporate governance principles to all corporate clients.

OECD-Hawkamah Task Force on Corporate Governance of Banks.

Hawkamah-UAB Bank Corporate Governance Award, supported by MasterCard .

Hawkamah's Corporate Governance Assessment Program