Arab economist calls for bolstering banking supervisory

A leading Arab economist has stressed the importance of boosting supervisory capabilities of Arab banks in a bid to enhance efficiency of the sector.
Reviewing the evolution of banks' supervisory legislations is essential for promoting their capabilities in the Arab World, Director General, Chairman of the Board of the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) Abdulrahman Al-Hamidy, said on Tuesday.
Al-Hamidy made the remark in his address to the opening session of the "10th High-level Meeting for the Middle East and North Africa Region: Global Banking Standards and Regulatory and Supervisory Priorities" organized by the AMF in Abu Dhabi.
He also called for fostering practices of overall precautionary control to face challenges to the sector, urging a constant upgrading of the supervisory and control capabilities so that the banking sector can withstand potential shocks.
Moreover, the AMF Chairman stressed the significance of coordination between supervisory authorities and decision makers, on local and global levels, following up efforts by the international community to bolster banking control legislations over the coming period, in line with Basel 3.
In the meantime, Al-Hamidy warned that decision makers must be alert to implications of strengthening control measures on the financing mechanisms of the financial and banking institutions.
He noted that the AMF seeks to provide financial and technical assistance to the Arab countries to foster their efforts to realize economic and fiscal stability.