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UAE Central Bank Implements Basel-II

Under the new system, the banks have been directed to maintain a minimum capital requirement of 11 per cent at all times, which would be increased to 12 per cent by June 30, 2010.

The Central Bank issued 36-page guidelines on Basel-II in September last year, though its implementation was not voluntary, said a financial expert. In the wake of financial crisis, the Central Bank early this year instructed banks to build on their capital requirements, which are now at 18 per cent on an average, much higher to the benchmark set by Basel-II.

The governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, Sultan bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, in a November 17 circular stated that after successfully completing the trial run of Basel-II, it is ready to start its actual implementation with immediate effect.

Under the system, main banks in the country are expected to migrate to the Foundation Internal Ratings Based approach, in due course.

Over the coming months, the circular read, the Central Bank will be speaking directly with concerned banks about these guidelines, and also on the evolutionary aspects about migrating to the Internal Ratings Based approaches on a case by case basis.

haseebhaider@khaleejtimes.com