Nesreen Hijazi

Senior Regulatory Affairs and Market Conduct professional with over 10 years driving compliance excellence across UAE's leading banks. Leads regulatory implementation across the Bank's 20 entities, spanning 50+ business units, and manages a team of 8 compliance professionals. Built the Bank's Market Conduct Compliance framework and Know Your Obligations (KYO) program from the ground up, and transformed regulatory gap-assessment tracking by leading its migration onto a GRC platform.

Trusted advisor to senior management on regulatory risk, conduct governance, and remediation, embedding compliance ownership across the organization.

Regulatory Affairs / Market Conduct Manager at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (2023-01 – Present)

• Direct regulatory change management bank-wide, leading impact assessments, gap analyses, and implementation oversight for 55–65 new and amended CBUAE regulations annually across 50+ business units.
• Own regulatory compliance and market conduct advisory across business functions, products, policies, procedures, and customer communications.
• Design and continuously enhance Regulatory Affairs, Conduct Risk, and Market Conduct frameworks in alignment with CBUAE requirements and industry best practices.
• Drive compliance governance reporting, compiling quarterly reports for the Compliance Management Committee (CMC) and Board Audit Committee (BAC) on regulatory risk, implementation status, audit findings, and remediation progress.
• Oversee remediation of regulatory, audit, and risk assessment findings, directing corrective actions and sustainable control improvements.
• Lead ethics and conduct governance across the Bank, including conflicts of interest, market abuse, insider trading, gifts and entertainment, and personal account dealing frameworks.
• Lead stakeholder engagement and examination management for CBUAE regulatory examinations and supervisory reviews as designated backup.
• Lead and mentor a team of 8 compliance professionals; own compliance awareness and regulatory training programs bank-wide.

Senior Compliance Officer at Commercial Bank International (2018-05 – 2022-12)

• Managed dissemination and follow-up of gap assessments for new regulatory notices and circulars, coordinating and tracking regulatory queries and issues to ensure timely allocation and closure with relevant business units.
• Provided regulatory and compliance advisory across Retail and Wholesale Banking, including interpretation of regulations, review of policies/procedures, product and credit programs, and financial promotions.
• Supported remediation of compliance gaps identified through monitoring activities and internal/external audits; conducted ongoing monitoring of Regulatory Reporting requirements applicable to Regulatory Affairs.
• Assisted in designing and implementing the Compliance Assurance Plan; performed semi-annual Risk Control Self-Assessments (RCSA) for the Compliance function.
• Managed FATCA and CRS annual reporting, including customer data reviews and coordination with business units to resolve data gaps.
• Liaised with the Central Bank on regulatory approvals related to branch openings/closures, maintenance, ATMs, and outsourcing activities.

Senior Compliance Officer – Sanctions Team (Payments and Sanctions Screening) at Commercial Bank International (2017-08 – 2018-04)

• Supported the PSS checker in conducting investigations for payment screening alerts, escalating violations involving blacklisted individuals/entities to the PSS checker and Financial Crime Compliance Manager.
• Maintained the safewatch list (prohibited countries, BIC, Good Guy Lists) and developed MIS reporting for PSS alerts, investigations, and correspondent bank queries.

Senior Compliance Officer at International Financial Brokerage (2017-04 – 2017-08)

Brokerage arm of Commercial Bank International, providing brokerage and facility services for clients

• Updated firm policies in line with SCA rules and drafted the code of conduct for ethical trading; reviewed client accounts and onboarding forms for regulatory compliance.

Customer Service at Emirates Islamic Financial Brokerage (2016-02 – 2017-04)

Brokerage arm of Emirates Islamic Bank, providing sukuk, securities, and Murabaha trading services

• Managed end-of-day settlement and reporting of delivery-versus-payment transactions, client account reconciliation, and market trading approvals for staff and Board Members.

Broker at Emirates Islamic Financial Brokerage (2014-02 – 2016-02)

• Executed client trade orders, monitored margin coverage and liquidations, and ensured suspicious deals or unethical trading were escalated to Compliance immediately.

Analyst – Program Management & Consulting Services (Banking) at Huron Consulting Group (2009-01 – 2012-02)

Global professional services firm advising organizations through industry and business change

• Tracked project milestones, budget, and schedule across Riyadh, Jeddah and Chicago offices, producing PMO reporting for bank consulting engagements and supporting business development activities.

Knowledge Management & Research Support at nextmove (acquired by Huron Consulting Group) (2006-07 – 2008-12)

• Prepared procedure documents and training material for financial services projects and supported ad-hoc research requests.

B.A. in Management Information Systems (MIS) – Al-Balqa' Applied University (2006)