Ulterior.live
Why Lending Still Feels Broken
Digital on the Surface. Operationally Fragmented Underneath

Lending transformation remains one of the biggest strategic priorities for banks, yet many institutions continue to struggle with the same operational bottlenecks underneath.

Customer acquisition has become digital, expectations around speed have fundamentally changed, and AI is accelerating transformation agendas across the industry.

And yet lending journeys still slow down when operations become fragmented through manual reviews, repeated KYC processes, exception handling, disconnected systems,

and workflows that were never designed to operate as one. The challenge today is no longer simply digitising journeys it’s building an operational model that can move faster,
scale efficiently, reduce operational dependency, govern AI safely, and orchestrate customer relationships across the full lifecycle.
 
Despite years of digital transformation investment, lending still feels operationally heavy inside many institutions. The  friction has simply moved deeper into the operating model.
 
We will discuss The operational opportunity banks are still underestimating in the UAE market and Revenue Leakage & Profitability Pressure in Retail & SME Lending

Discussion

Topics

What are your top 5 most labor-intensive workflows in ops or call center?

What is the single biggest barrier preventing your institution from deploying agentic AI - AI that takes multi-step actions autonomously - in your operations today?

For your revenue-generating journeys (e.g., loan origination, commercial onboarding), what is the primary cause of drop-off between application start and funding?

Which of the following UAE priority domains represents your most urgent automation opportunity right now?

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT

Amjad Ramahi

Speaker 1

Director of Solutions Engineering, MEA at Backbase

Backbase

Amjad Ramahi leads Solutions Engineering for Backbase across the Middle East and Africa, helping banks design and deliver digital-first customer experiences on one of the world’s leading digital banking platforms. His work sits at the intersection of business strategy and technical delivery, leading teams that define digital channel architectures, design end-to-end customer journeys, and facilitate executive workshops with banking CxOs and boards to shape digital transformation roadmaps. Prior to Backbase, Amjad held global presales and solution advisory roles at Sopra Banking Software, where he guided more than 10 banks through large-scale digital transformation programs across multiple continents. With more than 15 years of experience spanning presales, solutions engineering, strategic partnerships, and enterprise business development — including over 8 years focused specifically on digital banking — Amjad has worked across the full deal lifecycle, from discovery and solution design to commercial structuring and post-sale enablement.

ABOUT

Backbase

Backbase is on a mission to put bankers back in the driver’s seat — fully equipped to lead the AI revolution and unlock remarkable growth and efficiency. At the heart of this mission is the world’s first AI-powered Banking Platform, unifying all servicing and sales journeys into an integrated suite. With Backbase, banks modernize their operations across every line of business — from Retail and SME to Commercial, Private Banking, and Wealth Management. Recognized as a category leader by Forrester, Gartner, Celent, and IDC, Backbase powers the digital and AI transformations of over 150 financial institutions worldwide. Founded in 2003 in Amsterdam, Backbase is a global private fintech company with regional headquarters in Atlanta and Singapore, and offices across London, Sydney, Toronto, Dubai, Kraków, Cardiff, Hyderabad, and Mexico City.