UAE Central Bank Sets 2027 Supervisory Priorities, Flags AI and Digital Asset Reviews

The discussions took place at the UAE Financial Sector Supervisory Roundtable, held under the theme "Fostering Financial Resilience and Prosperity". CBUAE Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama opened the meeting. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, chairman of the UAE Banks Federation, gave a keynote address, and Ahmed Saeed Al Qamzi, Assistant Governor for Banking and Insurance Supervision, chaired the three working sessions.

Strategy and Resilience

In the first session the central bank presented its 2027 to 2029 strategy, its regulatory and supervisory framework and its priorities for 2027, WAM reported. The session also covered work on the suitability framework, governance at financial institutions, the CBUAE's own resilience, and updates on the Financial Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP), the IMF and World Bank review of national financial systems.

The second session dealt with operational and cyber resilience. It covered the role of the Financial Sector Security Operations Centre (FSOC), trends in fraud prevention, and updates on the Anti-Fraud Operations Centre (CAFOC) and its anti-fraud platform. Chief executives described their own institutions' work to strengthen resilience in a panel discussion.

The third session covered thematic supervisory reviews in banking, "particularly in the areas of digital assets and artificial intelligence", according to WAM. It also covered developments in the insurance market and supervisory reviews of resilience, digitalisation and climate.

What the Governor Said

Balama said financial stability remains at the top of the central bank's priorities and that it is building regulatory frameworks around risk-based supervision. "Financial institutions' resilience rests on their financial soundness and their ability to anticipate risks, respond to disruptions and recover swiftly, thereby protecting customers and strengthening trust in the financial system," he said.

He said that as financial services become more interconnected, talking directly with banks and insurers helps the regulator understand their challenges and helps them turn supervisory expectations into practice.

Why It Matters

WAM's account did not publish the priorities in detail. Still, putting AI and digital assets on a thematic review list tells boards and compliance teams where examiners will look next year. Thematic reviews usually compare how a group of institutions handles a single risk, and their findings often lead to new guidance or rules.

UAE banks are deploying AI quickly in customer service, credit, fraud detection and software development. Tighter supervision would mean more scrutiny of model governance, data use and accountability for automated decisions. The focus on fraud and cyber resilience also comes as the UAE builds national payment infrastructure, including the Aani instant payments platform and Jaywan card scheme run by the central bank's subsidiary Al Etihad Payments.

The roundtable also follows a year of firm enforcement. Nakoda reported this week that fines imposed by the CBUAE in 2026 have reached Dh222.92 million, all of them on branches of foreign banks.