Abu Dhabi: His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court, and Chairman of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), has presided over the seventh meeting of the CBUAE Board of Directors at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Mansour lauded the Central Bank’s role in fostering financial stability and inclusion, as well as its triumph at the Mohammed bin Rashid Government Excellence Award 2024, where it won the Leading Federal Entity Award for entities with over 500 employees.
The Vice President highlighted the CBUAE’s progress in digital transformation, innovation, and regulatory oversight, all aimed at enhancing the financial sector’s resilience.
The Board discussed key projects, including the Financial Infrastructure Transformation Program (FIT), which has achieved 85 percent completion. It approved:
- The establishment of “Nebras Open Finance LLC”, a Central Bank subsidiary focused on open finance infrastructure and a digital “Know Your Customer” platform.
- The CBUAE’s estimated 2025 budget and reviewed 2024 financial statements, projecting a 22 percent increase in assets to AED877 billion ($238.72 billion).
The banking sector recorded a 9 percent asset increase, reaching AED4.462 billion ($1.21 billion), while National Banks saw a 7 percent rise in capital and reserves to AED505 billion ($137.5 billion).
The “Aani” instant payment platform, designed to enhance digital payment solutions, has gained traction, with over one million users and more than 400,000 daily transactions, amounting to AED20 billion ($5.44 billion) monthly. The platform is supported by over 50 financial institutions and 80,000 retail outlets nationwide.
The Central Bank’s Emiratization initiative, launched in 2022, has exceeded targets, achieving a 121 percent employment rate with 2,227 Emiratis hired. Leadership roles held by Emiratis rose to 23.7 percent, and critical positions to 36.6 percent.
The Board approved several key regulations to advance the financial and insurance industries, including:
- Five financial technology regulations, alongside the issuance of 24 licenses and the review of 75 additional applications.
- Three insurance sector regulations focused on general disclosure, health insurance claims management, and foreign insurance representation offices.