UAE Central Bank considers Emiratisation of banking, insurance sectors

Board endorses criteria governing banks' loan exposure to the real estate sector

By Wam

Published: Mon 13 Dec 2021, 11:56 PM

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) Monday chaired the apex bank's fifth board meeting this year at Qasr Al Watan.

Discussed during the meeting was a proposal for conducting a study on a job nationalisation programme and Emiratisation of leading professions by qualified UAE citizens in the banking and insurance sectors.

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Addressing the meeting, Sheikh Mansour appreciated the efforts made by the CBUAE's departments to maintain the financial stability of the UAE banking sector.

He highlighted the plans set forth for the coming period on digital inclusiveness and greening the financial system in keeping with best international practices to safeguard the stability and integrity of the UAE marketplace and economy.

The Board approved the CBUAE's projected budget for the year 2022.

The CBUAE governor's assistants and senior employees conducted a presentation on the Bank's strategy for the years 2023-2026, which covers all its sectors.

The board members approved a system to amend the Licensing and Monitoring of Exchange Business. Also approved were requests submitted by some of the financial establishments operating in the UAE.

The Board also approved a system whereby banks own their shares. A number of decisions have been adopted in this regard to ensure enforcement of these systems the soonest possible in order to ensure continued economic stability and growth for institutions and individuals.

The CBUAE Board also endorsed the criteria governing banks' loan exposure to the real estate sector, with these criteria to take effect from December 30, 2021. The exposure criteria are aimed to improve identification, benchmarking and oversight of real estate exposure in line with a clear-cut approach.

A monitoring period will be applied until the end of 2022, during which the banks will be under enhanced oversight to execute and consolidate their internal policies in terms of loans and management of real estate risk exposure.

The meeting was attended by Vice Chairmen Abdulrahman Al Saleh and Jassem Mohammad Buatabah Al Zaabi, along with CBUAE Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama, and the board members: Younis Al Khoori, Sami Dhaen Al Qamzi, and Ali Mohammed Bakheet Al Rumaithi.