Jaywing has expanded its presence in the Middle East with the appointment of Bilal Shaik Mohammad as Director of Sales for the GCC. With over 15 years’ experience in information security, risk, and regulatory advisory across financial services, Bilal will support banks and insurers as they strengthen credit risk and fraud capabilities in an increasingly data-driven and regulated sector.
We spoke to Bilal about the trends shaping the region, how institutions are approaching analytics and automation, and where he sees the biggest opportunities ahead.
Q1. What attracted you to working with Jaywing and the opportunity to support clients across the GCC and Middle East?
For me, it was Jaywing’s strong heritage in data science, advanced analytics, and risk modelling, particularly within financial services. The firm has a proven track record of helping banks and insurers make better decisions through data, which is increasingly critical today.
The GCC and wider Middle East’s financial sector is changing so rapidly, with institutions investing heavily in digital transformation, risk management capabilities, and regulatory compliance. Being able to combine Jaywing’s global expertise with the specific needs of this market presents a very exciting opportunity to deliver real value to clients.
Q2. From your perspective, what are the key trends shaping credit risk and fraud management in financial services across the Middle East right now?
Several trends are shaping this area. One of the most significant is the rapid digitalisation of banking and insurance services, which has increased both the volume of transactions and the complexity of fraud risks.
At the same time, financial institutions are placing greater emphasis on data-driven decision making, using advanced analytics and machine learning to improve credit assessment and fraud detection. We’re also seeing stronger regulatory expectations around governance, transparency, and model risk management, which is encouraging institutions to enhance their analytical frameworks and oversight processes.
Another key trend is the growing use of alternative data sources and real-time analytics to support faster and more accurate credit decisions, particularly as financial institutions look to expand lending while maintaining prudent risk controls.
Q3. How are banks and insurers in the region approaching areas such as data science, risk modelling and automation to improve credit decisioning and fraud prevention?
Many institutions in the region are actively investing in modern data platforms and advanced analytics capabilities. This includes building stronger data science teams and adopting more sophisticated modelling techniques to improve predictive accuracy.
Automation is also playing a major role. By integrating analytics directly into decisioning systems, organisations can streamline processes such as credit approvals, risk monitoring, and fraud alerts, allowing them to respond more quickly and consistently.
More importantly, as well as adopting new technologies, the focus is also now on ensuring that these models are robust, explainable, and well governed, which is essential for both regulatory compliance and operational confidence.
Q4. Regulators across the region are placing increasing focus on governance, model oversight and financial crime controls. How do you see regulatory expectations evolving for financial institutions?
Regulators are continuing to raise expectations around risk governance, transparency, and accountability, particularly as financial institutions rely more heavily on advanced analytics and automated decisioning.
We are seeing greater emphasis on areas such as model validation, documentation, explainability, and ongoing performance monitoring. That’s because regulators want to ensure that institutions not only deploy sophisticated models but also maintain strong oversight frameworks to manage potential risks.
In addition, financial crime controls are becoming increasingly important as cross-border transactions and digital channels expand. Institutions are therefore expected to implement stronger monitoring systems, integrated data environments, and more proactive risk management practices.
Q5. From the conversations you’re having with clients, where are organisations seeing the greatest opportunity to use analytics and technology to strengthen credit risk management and fraud detection?
Many organisations see significant opportunities in leveraging analytics to achieve better risk segmentation and more personalised decisioning. By analysing a broader range of data, institutions can make more accurate credit assessments while also expanding access to financial services.
In fraud detection, real-time analytics and machine learning models are enabling institutions to identify suspicious patterns much earlier, reducing losses while improving the customer experience by minimising false positives.
Another key opportunity lies in integrating analytics across the entire risk lifecycle, from origination and underwriting to monitoring and collections, creating a more holistic and proactive approach to risk management.
Q6. Finally, how do you see Jaywing and the wider Stubben Edge Group positioned to support financial institutions as they modernise their credit and fraud risk capabilities?
As I mentioned earlier, Jaywing brings deep expertise in advanced analytics, risk modelling, and data science, which positions us well to support financial institutions as they modernise their risk capabilities. Our focus is on helping clients translate complex data into practical decisioning frameworks that improve both risk outcomes and operational efficiency.
As part of the Stubben Edge Group, we can also offer a broader ecosystem of financial services expertise, regulatory insight, and technology solutions, enabling us to support clients across multiple aspects of their transformation journeys.
Ultimately, our goal is to work closely with financial institutions to build scalable, well governed, and future-ready risk frameworks that allow them to grow confidently while maintaining strong risk and compliance standards.
Final thought
As financial institutions across the GCC continue to expand digital services and adopt more advanced analytics, firms’ biggest challenges are no longer just building models. Firms now need to ensure the advanced techniques they are using are well governed, integrated and aligned to real-world risk. Bilal’s focus on combining strong analytical capability with practical implementation reflects where many organisations are now placing their attention.