Company Insights Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates Banking and Finance Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates Overview The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (Central Bank or CBUAE) is responsible for managing the monetary policy, currency and financial regulation in the UAE. Previously this role was fulfilled by the Currency Board, which was set up in 1973 following the formation of the UAE in 1971. On the day that the Currency Board was established, the new UAE dirham entered circulation to replace the Qatari riyal and Bahraini dinar. The Currency Board was tasked with managing the UAE’s gold and foreign exchange reserves but did not have full central bank regulatory authority. The Central Bank of the UAE was established in 1980. The CBUAE has powers to issue and manage the currency and ensure its stability, to manage the Emirates’ credit policy and to oversee the banking system. It also plays a key role in implementing anti-money laundering measures and promoting sound banking practices and represents the UAE in international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Arab Monetary Fund. Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates News Banking and Finance UAE exchange houses fined over money laundering failings The Central Bank of the UAE has imposed financial penalties on six exchange houses in the UAE for failing to comply with anti-money laundering controls. The exchange houses, whose names were not revealed, were fined AED12.3 million ($3.4 million), the central bank said in a statement. The sanctions were imposed based on the findings of […] June 10, 2025 Real Estate Dubai issues Middle East’s first tokenised property certificate Dubai has issued its first tokenised property certificate, moving tokenisation of real estate from the realm of theory to practice. Tokenisation is the process of creating and trading digital tokens that are backed by real-world assets on a blockchain. It enables direct and verifiable peer-to-peer transactions. The certificate’s launch follows the successful sale of the […] May 30, 2025 Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi group creating dirham-backed stablecoin Sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Co. is among a group of companies developing a cryptocurrency that will be linked to the UAE dirham currency. Better known as ADQ, the fund – together with the emirate’s International Holding Company (IHC) and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) – will develop the stablecoin to be regulated […] April 30, 2025 Economy GCC central banks align with Fed to keep rates steady The central banks in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have aligned with the US Federal Reserve to hold their interest rates steady. The Central Bank of the UAE will maintain its base rate on overnight deposit facility (ODF) at 4.4 percent, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. No other central banks in the […] January 30, 2025 Opinion Markets UAE capital markets are well placed for a stellar year Investor confidence and strong GDP growth point to a good 2025 January 14, 2025 Analysis Markets Gulf jewellery sales suffer from gold’s rich streak High gold prices amid widespread geopolitical uncertainty have dented jewellery sales in the Middle East this year. The trend is expected to continue in 2025. India’s sharp reduction of gold import duties in July, from 15 percent to 6 percent, boosted domestic sales but hit Middle Eastern merchants, according to industry insiders. “After a weak […] December 26, 2024 Finance Gulf central banks follow US Fed with rate cuts Key Gulf central banks lowered interest rates in line with the US Federal Reserve’s benchmark rate reduction by 25 basis points (bps) on Wednesday. The Central Bank of the UAE reduced the base rate on its overnight deposit facility by 25 bps to 4.4 percent from 4.65 percent, effective from Thursday. Saudi Arabia cut repurchase (repo) […] December 19, 2024 Banking and Finance UAE stablecoin gets green light from Central Bank UAE businesses could soon be able to accept AE Coin, the first regulated cryptocurrency in the Emirates. The AE Coin, which has just received regulatory approval from the Central Bank of the UAE, is pegged to the dirham, making it less volatile than other cryptocurrencies. Cryptos tied to a fiat, or government-issued, currency are known as […] December 11, 2024 Banking and Finance UAE bank lending rises but profits hit by impairment charges The aggregate net income of UAE banks dropped 5.5 percent in the third quarter of this year, as a jump in impairment charges dented profitability. Among the top 10 lenders in the UAE, aggregate income fell to AED20.3 billion ($5.5 billion) in Q3 2024, according to a report by professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal. […] November 25, 2024 Economy Gulf central banks mirror US Fed interest rate cut Most Gulf central banks lowered their key interest rates after the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points (bps) on Thursday. The Central Bank of the UAE reduced the base rate on its overnight deposit facility by 25 bps to 4.65 percent, effective Friday. Saudi Arabia cut repurchase (repo) and reverse […] November 8, 2024 Posts navigation 1 2 … 9 Next
Banking and Finance UAE exchange houses fined over money laundering failings The Central Bank of the UAE has imposed financial penalties on six exchange houses in the UAE for failing to comply with anti-money laundering controls. The exchange houses, whose names were not revealed, were fined AED12.3 million ($3.4 million), the central bank said in a statement. The sanctions were imposed based on the findings of […] June 10, 2025
Real Estate Dubai issues Middle East’s first tokenised property certificate Dubai has issued its first tokenised property certificate, moving tokenisation of real estate from the realm of theory to practice. Tokenisation is the process of creating and trading digital tokens that are backed by real-world assets on a blockchain. It enables direct and verifiable peer-to-peer transactions. The certificate’s launch follows the successful sale of the […] May 30, 2025
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi group creating dirham-backed stablecoin Sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Co. is among a group of companies developing a cryptocurrency that will be linked to the UAE dirham currency. Better known as ADQ, the fund – together with the emirate’s International Holding Company (IHC) and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) – will develop the stablecoin to be regulated […] April 30, 2025
Economy GCC central banks align with Fed to keep rates steady The central banks in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have aligned with the US Federal Reserve to hold their interest rates steady. The Central Bank of the UAE will maintain its base rate on overnight deposit facility (ODF) at 4.4 percent, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. No other central banks in the […] January 30, 2025
Opinion Markets UAE capital markets are well placed for a stellar year Investor confidence and strong GDP growth point to a good 2025 January 14, 2025
Analysis Markets Gulf jewellery sales suffer from gold’s rich streak High gold prices amid widespread geopolitical uncertainty have dented jewellery sales in the Middle East this year. The trend is expected to continue in 2025. India’s sharp reduction of gold import duties in July, from 15 percent to 6 percent, boosted domestic sales but hit Middle Eastern merchants, according to industry insiders. “After a weak […] December 26, 2024
Finance Gulf central banks follow US Fed with rate cuts Key Gulf central banks lowered interest rates in line with the US Federal Reserve’s benchmark rate reduction by 25 basis points (bps) on Wednesday. The Central Bank of the UAE reduced the base rate on its overnight deposit facility by 25 bps to 4.4 percent from 4.65 percent, effective from Thursday. Saudi Arabia cut repurchase (repo) […] December 19, 2024
Banking and Finance UAE stablecoin gets green light from Central Bank UAE businesses could soon be able to accept AE Coin, the first regulated cryptocurrency in the Emirates. The AE Coin, which has just received regulatory approval from the Central Bank of the UAE, is pegged to the dirham, making it less volatile than other cryptocurrencies. Cryptos tied to a fiat, or government-issued, currency are known as […] December 11, 2024
Banking and Finance UAE bank lending rises but profits hit by impairment charges The aggregate net income of UAE banks dropped 5.5 percent in the third quarter of this year, as a jump in impairment charges dented profitability. Among the top 10 lenders in the UAE, aggregate income fell to AED20.3 billion ($5.5 billion) in Q3 2024, according to a report by professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal. […] November 25, 2024
Economy Gulf central banks mirror US Fed interest rate cut Most Gulf central banks lowered their key interest rates after the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points (bps) on Thursday. The Central Bank of the UAE reduced the base rate on its overnight deposit facility by 25 bps to 4.65 percent, effective Friday. Saudi Arabia cut repurchase (repo) and reverse […] November 8, 2024
