A new law has given the DIFC a broader remit. Sarah Dea / The National
A new law has given the DIFC a broader remit. Sarah Dea / The National
A new law has given the DIFC a broader remit. Sarah Dea / The National
A new law has given the DIFC a broader remit. Sarah Dea / The National

DFSA and Bank of Italy sign preliminary agreement for co-operation on financial supervision


Sarmad Khan
  • English
  • Arabic

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the regulator of the emirate’s financial hub, and the Bank of Italy signed a preliminary agreement to co-operate on financial supervision.

The deal between the two regulators focuses on co-operation and information exchange in the supervision and resolution of financial institutions, including the important area of fighting financial crimes, the DFSA said on Wednesday.

The agreement builds on a previous agreement signed by the DFSA and the Bank of Italy in 2013. It updates the framework of co-operation between the authorities, including procedures for on-site inspections of “supervised entities physically located in the jurisdiction of the other authority”.

"The DFSA places high importance on compliance with international standards of regulation and supervision, including pro-active co-operation and collaboration with other regulators,” Bryan Stirewalt, chief executive of the DFSA, said.

“Our strategic co-operation with the Bank of Italy has significantly enhanced communication between the two financial ecosystems, bringing continuity, stability and certainty to our respective economies.”

These engagements are even more critical in the current market, as supervisory co-operation allows “safe and efficient cross-border flows” of capital, talent and knowledge, Mr Stirewalt said.

The DFSA's regulatory mandate covers asset management, banking and credit services, securities, collective investment funds, custody and trust services, commodities futures trading and Islamic finance. It also has oversight of insurance, crowdfunding platforms, money services, an international equities exchange and an international commodities derivatives exchange within Dubai’s financial hub.

The DFSA frequently updates its rules and regulations to align them with international standards. In March, the authority published for consultation its framework to regulate security tokens in the DIFC.

The proposed regulations include safeguards to tackle investor protection issues and misconduct risks. They also address market integrity, financial stability – as well as money laundering – and terrorism financing threats in the direct access environment, the DFSA said.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Iraq negotiating over Iran sanctions impact
  • US sanctions on Iran’s energy industry and exports took effect on Monday, November 5.
  • Washington issued formal waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil, allowing them to continue limited imports. Iraq did not receive a waiver.
  • Iraq’s government is cooperating with the US to contain Iranian influence in the country, and increased Iraqi oil production is helping to make up for Iranian crude that sanctions are blocking from markets, US officials say.
  • Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped last month at a record 4.78 million barrels a day, former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said on Oct. 20. Iraq exported 3.83 million barrels a day last month, according to tanker tracking and data from port agents.
  • Iraq has been working to restore production at its northern Kirkuk oil field. Kirkuk could add 200,000 barrels a day of oil to Iraq’s total output, Hook said.
  • The country stopped trucking Kirkuk oil to Iran about three weeks ago, in line with U.S. sanctions, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t allowed to speak to media.
  • Oil exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest supplier, have slumped since President Donald Trump announced in May that he’d reimpose sanctions. Iran shipped about 1.76 million barrels a day in October out of 3.42 million in total production, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
  • Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
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  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)

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