The Financial Stability Board’s Regional Consultative Group for the Middle East and North Africa has held its 18th meeting via videoconference to discuss recent global and regional macroeconomic and financial market developments.
Saturday’s meeting was co-chaired by Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) Ahmed al-Kholifey and Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain Rasheed al-Maraj.
The group received an update on the FSB’s deliverables to the Saudi Arabian G20 Presidency, with an emphasis on the initiatives where the RCGs have provided input.
This includes the FSB’s work on BigTech firms in Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs), benchmark transition, enhancing cyber resilience and cross-border payments, as well as addressing regulatory, and supervisory and oversight challenges raised by “global stablecoin” arrangements.
RCG members exchanged views and shared experiences on how the recommendations from the “global stablecoin” report could be implemented in their jurisdictions.
They also discussed the latest financial stability implications of COVID-19, as well as any medium- or long-term threats to regional financial stability that might arise from the pandemic and its economic implications, including their policy responses.
The FSB has six Regional Consultative Groups, established under the FSB Charter, to bring together financial authorities from member and non-member countries to exchange views on vulnerabilities affecting financial systems and on initiatives to promote financial stability.
The FSB coordinates at the international level the work of national financial authorities and international standard-setting bodies, and develops and promotes the implementation of effective regulatory, supervisory and other financial sector policies in the interest of financial stability.
Membership includes financial and regulatory authorities from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
