Banks, financial institutions, and insurance companies across the UAE are operating normally, "without disruption nationwide", the UAE Central Bank's Governor said.
The banking and financial sector continues to maintain very strong levels of capital adequacy and liquidity, Khaled Balama said in a statement on Thursday.
His remarks come as the UAE, along with other Gulf states, has been facing retaliatory attacks by Tehran after the US and Israel began strikes against Iran on Saturday.
"I reaffirm that the UAE’s banking systems, payment systems, and national financial infrastructure continue to operate with full efficiency and stability," Mr Balama said.
"These systems are supported by advanced operational and technological frameworks that ensure the seamless, secure, and uninterrupted functioning of banking and financial services."
Earlier this week, digital banking services of some UAE lenders faced interruptions after a region-wide IT breakdown.
But some banks have confirmed that services have since resumed. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank on Wednesday restored its retail mobile banking services after a hiatus of 48 hours. The disruption affected ADCB’s online banking, as well as its customer contact centre operations, however, “at no point during the disruption were customer data, accounts, or the security of the bank’s systems compromised”, it said.
ADCB did not say what caused the disruption and it was not clear whether the issues were related to a fire at an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centre in the UAE, which happened on the same day that Iran attempted to strike key sites in the country.
Customers of First Abu Dhabi Bank, Dubai’s Emirates NBD and Emirates Islamic also faced issues with accessing digital services.
Risk management
Financial and banking institutions operating in the UAE have advanced frameworks for risk identification, risk management, and business continuity, Mr Balama said.
"This further strengthens their capacity to address potential developments and emerging challenges with agility and resilience."
Meanwhile, total assets of the UAE banking and financial sector now exceed Dh5.42 trillion ($1.47 trillion), reflecting "their capacity to meet obligations and sustain support for economic activity under various conditions", he added.
The capital adequacy ratio currently stands at 17 per cent, while the liquidity coverage ratio exceeds 146.6 per cent, both above the regulatory thresholds recommended by international supervisory bodies and global financial institutions.
The Central Bank constantly monitors key indicators of financial stability and liquidity and conducts regular assessments and stress-testing exercises, Mr Balama said.
It also has "prudential and monetary policy tools that enables it to take timely and appropriate action whenever necessary to safeguard financial stability and reinforce confidence in the banking and financial sector".
The Central Bank continues to closely monitor developments, "ensuring full operational readiness and the uninterrupted provision of banking and financial services across the country", he added.
