BML's Mohamed Shareef becomes first Maldivian to chair the Asian Bankers Association
The appointment took effect on 31 July — and brings the ABA's annual conference to Malé in September.
Mohamed Shareef, chief executive and managing director of Bank of Maldives, has been appointed chairman of the Asian Bankers Association — the first Maldivian to lead the body since its founding in 1981. The appointment, made by the ABA board in accordance with the association's charter, took effect on 31 July.
"I am deeply honoured by the confidence and trust placed in me by the Board and member banks of the Asian Bankers Association," Shareef said in the bank's announcement.
The chairmanship is not a first acquaintance. Shareef served as the association's vice-chairman from 2018 to 2020 and was reappointed to the role in 2025 before the board elevated him this week. Dr Darson Chiu, the ABA's secretary-treasurer, congratulated Shareef on the appointment and pledged the secretariat's full support.
The ABA brings together banks and banking associations from across Asia — alongside regulators, policymakers and international financial institutions — for policy dialogue, professional development and the exchange of practice across the region's very different banking systems.
The appointment also brings the association home with it: BML hosts the ABA's conference in Malé from 1 to 3 September, putting the region's banking leadership in the capital a month after its chairman took office there.
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