Qatar Central Bank leads financial regulation

Qatar Central Bank (QCB) comes at the forefront of the financial and economic front of the State for its important role in the supervision and control of the movement and flow of cash, capital markets activities and foreign exchange trading and dispensing, as well as its role in enriching the economic and commercial activity in the public and private sectors. QCB inaugurated few days ago its new strategy for the financial sector in preparation to launch next strategies for the years 2017 and 2023 in order to achieve the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030. The new strategy includes a detailed program till the year 2016 that insures unified control policies, strengthens the regulatory system between the banking sector, the financial markets and the insurance sector, provides full protection for all dealers and consumer rights, and enhances the work of the Islamic institutions and resolves disputes between the various parties. The strategy is aiming at creating a strong and effective financial regulatory framework that supports the economic prosperity and the financial stability witnessed by the State. It is also aiming at establishing a strong infrastructure for the financial services industry, in line with the best international standards and practices. To achieve the new strategy, QCB set up Qatar Credit Bureau, Financial stability and Statistics Department, Risk Management Department, and Qatar Central Securities Depository. QCB then listed treasury bills on Qatar Exchange as a first step to list the rest of the public debt securities, bonds and instruments and units of investment funds. In December 2013, QCB issued government bonds and Islamic sukuk Islamic for national banks for a period of 3 years and 5 years with a total value of 4 billion riyals. In 2012 - 2013 QCB issued treasury bills for different periods in favor of the Government of the State of Qatar worth 21 billion riyals, and issued 9.14 billion bonds for the Retirement and Pension Authority. Perhaps the most important event for Qatar Central Bank for 2012 - 2013 is the issuance of its new law which represents an important step to regulate the financial and regulatory services, oversight all financial sectors, promote financial stability, and to expand the scope of regulation and supervision to include areas that require financial structuring. The new law will strengthen cooperation and coordination among regulators and supervisory in the State of Qatar in its work on the development and implementation of the regulatory and supervision policy, and application of the latest international standards and best practices to achieve of the objectives of Qatar Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2011-2016. The new law is also an important step for Qatar in the process of building a financial sector that enjoys flexibility and works according to the highest international standards of regulation and supervision. Qatar Central Bank represented the State of Qatar in several regional and international meetings in 2012 - 2013. It also provided international, regional and local competent with monetary and fiscal data, different surveys and questionnaires. QCB also signed four memorandums of understanding with the central banks of Mauritania, Vietnam, China and India, aiming at promoting mutual cooperation. Meanwhile, QCB is planning to apply international accounting standards on its accounts, and to issue the financial position on a weekly basis. It is also planning to qualify the accounts of Qatar Central Bank to comply with the requirements of the Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS), and electronically prepare the models for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS). QCB is also working on applying the Wall Street system to manage the bank's investment portfolio and introducing a new system for the risk management, in addition to setting rules for listing ETFs, in coordination with the Qatar Financial Markets Authority and Qatar Exchange. The Bank will also inaugurate the digital assessment project (Scoring) for customers and is planning to include Qatar Development Bank to the mechanism of the electronic system for the exchange of checks. QCB will also launch of the second phase of the Credit Bureau project for communication companies and connect the banking risks system with the Real Estate Registration Department at the Ministry of Justice and Qatar Exchange in order to verify the guarantees provided. QCB is seeking to set up reporting systems for early warning and to develop an application for smart phones for the bank and its diverse activities. QCB is expected to issue commemorative coins to mark the various events in Qatar, especially the 2022 World Cup. The Bank will also work on the completion of the automated system for the preparation of statistical reports, the preparation of the financial stability schedules, and preparing and issuing the Bank's economic and statistical publications.