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UAE mulls regulation for crowdfunding

Dubai - Introduction comes as crowdfunding is becoming an increasingly important route for SMEs to access financing

The Central Bank of the UAE is looking at regulation for crowdfunding in the emirates as part of measures to boost financing for small and medium enterprises, its governor said on Wednesday.
"We are looking at crowdfunding regulation which will help SMEs," Mubarak Rashed Al Mansoori told a banking forum in Abu Dhabi. He said the objective of the move is to license crowdfunding platforms, which are currently not licenced.
Regulators in the United States and Britain are among those countries that have introduced rules for crowdfunding, which is becoming an increasingly important source of cash for small and medium-sized enterprises.
In August 2017, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) launched its regulatory framework for loan and investment-based crowdfunding platforms to create an innovation-friendly ecosystem.
The introduction of the regulation comes as crowdfunding is becoming an increasingly important route for SMEs to access financing. Global loan-based crowdfunding is forecast to reach more than $300 billion (Dh1.1 trillion) and global equity-based crowdfunding more than $93 billion by 2020.
Al Mansoori was speaking at the fifth Middle East Banking Forum, hosted by the UAE Banks Federation, in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. He told reporters that a request by the UAE central bank for local banks and finance companies to provide details of the accounts of 19 Saudi citizens was just an information-gathering exercise. The request earlier this month followed a sweeping corruption investigation in Saudi Arabia that involved the detention of dozens of businessmen and officials. Asked about the request, Al Mansoori said it was "just information-gathering, nothing more".
Commercial bankers have expressed concern that it could be a prelude to freezing the accounts.
 
4% loan growth
Addressing the forum, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, chairman of the UAE Banks Federation, said loan growth in the UAE could rebound to around three to four per cent in 2018 after flat growth in 2017.
Bank lending has been sluggish this year because of subdued economic growth.
In October, gross bank credit expanded just 0.9 per cent from a year ago, the lowest rate since the data series began in March 2014, central bank data shows.
Asked what he expected for 2018, Al Ghurair told reporters: "I think three or four per cent for the banking system."
He did not elaborate, but economists believe a rise in oil prices over recent months will enable governments in the region to loosen spending moderately.
In his role as chief executive of Dubai-based Mashreq Bank, Al Ghurair said Mashreq had no plans to exit Qatar.
Al Ghurair said some of the challenges that the industry is seeing currently include the adoption of artificial intelligence and big data analytics, rising cyber-attacks, constantly evolving regulation as well as difficulties in financing SMEs in the UAE.
"Owing to its potential to become an indispensable part of banking models, banks are now increasingly applying artificial intelligence in their frameworks. Indeed, this forum complements the recently announced UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, which advocates embracing the technology by the country's financial institutions."
The forum emphasised that digitalisation, demanding customers, competition from unexpected quarters, cyberattacks and constantly evolving regulatory environment are the powerful forces that are transforming the banking business. Banks that fail to adapt quickly to these trends will be left behind. But those that take change into consideration by rewriting their strategies and implementing new operating models will open up a new world of opportunities.
The lineup of speakers included the keynote speaker Dr Andrei Kirilenko, Director of the Centre for Global Finance and Technology at the Imperial College Business School.
(With inputs from Reuters)
- waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com