The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) held its regular meeting with the chief executive officers of banks operating in the UAE to review key initiatives and the latest developments in implementing the Financial Institutions Resilience Package (FIRP) announced on 17 March 2026. The agenda also covered Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) Programme projects aimed at strengthening operational resilience and improving the efficiency of digital payment systems, with implementation reported as on schedule, including issuance of the UAE domestic card scheme Jaywan and expansion of services offered through the Open Finance Platform Al Tareq and the Instant Payments Platform Aani. The CBUAE urged banks to comply with regulatory guidelines on customer identity authentication, including the use of one-time passwords through digital applications. Participants discussed operational progress across FIRP pillars and cited active use of statutory reserve balances, regular testing of term lending facilities and efficient utilisation when necessary. During the first quarter of 2026, reserves held by UAE banks at the CBUAE increased to AED 439 billion, comprising AED 271 billion in required reserves and AED 168 billion in surplus liquidity; banks also held AED 263 billion in CBUAE securities that can be used for liquidity management. Total assets of the UAE banking sector increased to AED 5.5 trillion.
Central Bank of the UAE 2026-04-10
Central Bank of the UAE convenes bank CEOs to review the Financial Institutions Resilience Package and progress on digital payments reforms
The Central Bank of the UAE met with CEOs of banks operating in the UAE to review implementation of the Financial Institutions Resilience Package and Financial Infrastructure Transformation Programme, noting that key projects such as the Jaywan domestic card scheme, the Open Finance Platform Al Tareq and the Instant Payments Platform Aani are on schedule. It urged banks to comply with regulatory guidelines on customer identity authentication, including one-time passwords through digital applications, and reported that in the first quarter of 2026 banks’ reserves at the Central Bank rose to AED 439 billion and total banking sector assets reached AED 5.5 trillion.