ABU DHABI, 13th December, 2021 (WAM) — H.H. 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 United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) Monday chaired the apex bank's fifth board meeting this year at Qasr Al Watan.
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.
Addressing the meeting, His Highness 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, including their assigned roles and responsibilities.
During the meeting, the Board approved the vision, mission & values, strategic objectives & indicators and the key projects and initiatives. Discussed during the meeting as well 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.
The Board approved the Retail Payment System, the Large-Value Payment Systems (LVPS) and Card Schemes Regulation. The board members also 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 extending for six months until March 30th 2022 the transitional periods of the Stored Value Facilities and the licensed Payment Service Providers to ensure compliance with the requirements of the SVF. The Board also approved a system whereby the 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 30th, 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 Board was briefed on the latest developments of the Targeted Economic Support Scheme (TESS) to contain the repercussion of the Covid-19. Updates and amendments to the TESS were approved in line with the scheme's updated criteria. Under the new updates, easing of liquidity requirements, and capital buffer and stable funding relief will be extended from December 20, 2021 till June 30, 2022. This will be applied to all banks operating in the UAE.
The Board also approved the National Payment System Strategy (NPSS CBUAE) Phase III, with all necessary measures in this respect to be adopted by the executive departments concerned. Focus will be laid on the leading strategic initiatives related to payments, including, but not limited to, the execution and operation of the financial market infrastructure, which includes the Immediate Payment Instructions (IPI) and other payment systems.