UAE regulators mull guidelines for financial units

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) have jointly launched a four-week public consultation on proposed “Guidelines for Financial Institutions Adopting Enabling Technologies.”

The consultation sets out principles for cross-sectoral activities such as banking, insurance, asset management and securities, and best practices for financial institutions when adopting enabling technologies for the development or offering of innovative products and services.

The technologies discussed include Application Programming Interfaces, Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, Biometrics, Cloud Computing, and Distributed Ledger Technology. The objectives of these Guidelines are to promote the safe and sound adoption of these technologies by financial institutions across the UAE, so that the risks arising from the adoption of innovative activities are proactively and appropriately managed.

In drawing up the Guidelines, the Regulators have considered both international standards and industry best practices.

The Guidelines will apply to all financial institutions that are licensed and supervised by any of the Regulators and who utilise the enabling technologies, irrespective of the financial activities conducted. The Regulators have welcomed comments on the Guidelines which are set to be issued in the second half of 2021, subject to the outcome of the public consultation.