CBUAE Fitness and Propriety Standardschapter by chapter

Standards 2.1-2.2

An authorized individual cannot be deemed fit and proper for any role beyond the central bank-authorised position, and must be reassessed with a new authorisation application before taking a different designated function.

Standards 2.3-2.4

Licensees must immediately notify the Central Bank when a designated function becomes vacant unexpectedly, and may request an urgent interim appointment of an authorized individual, usually approved for up to six months.

Standards 2.5-2.6

Licensees must monitor fitness, propriety and collective suitability on an ongoing basis between annual appraisals, applying proportionality to competency requirements but never to honesty, integrity or reputation.

Standards 3.1-3.2

The Central Bank may communicate and amend the list of designated functions requiring authorisation, and will not grant authorisation until all required information and application requirements are fully met.

Standards 3.3-3.6

The Central Bank may request interviews with Authorised Individuals or other Persons, require Licensee meetings, conduct exit interviews, and impose employment bans on unsuccessful applicants.

Standards 4.1-4.3

Boards must ensure fitness and propriety of designated function holders through a Fit and Proper Process, and confirm assessment information is truthful, complete, accurate and not misleading.

Standards 4.4-4.7

Licensees must establish and maintain frameworks ensuring Board/Senior Management fit and proper assessments, with defined processes, documentation, and training requirements.

Standards 4.8

Where a person assessed has been authorised by a foreign regulator, the Central Bank may require the Licensee to contact that regulator and share information where legally permissible.

Standards 4.9-4.10

Licensee must notify the Central Bank within 7 business days of an Authorized Individual's appointment, and fill any vacant Designated Function within 30 days, interim or permanent, subject to Authorisation requirements.

Standards 4.11

Licensees should take corrective measures and prepare a training plan for a Person with easily remediable knowledge or skills gaps, submitted to the Central Bank with the authorisation application.

Standards 5.1-5.3

Licensees must subject Material Risk Takers to a fit and proper process covering competence and experience, and maintain policies ensuring they remain fit and proper throughout their tenure.

Standards 5.4-5.5

Licensees must notify the Central Bank of Material Risk Taker appointments within 30 days and give the Central Bank access to MRT nomination and appointment information on request.

Standards 5.6-5.8

Material risk takers must complete function-relevant training at engagement, and licensees must keep their knowledge current through ongoing training and suitability assessments.

Standards 6.1-6.2

Authorised individuals and material risk takers must pass the fit and proper process before appointment, reappointment or contract renewal, with licensees assessing equivalent roles regardless of title.

Standards 6.3-6.9

Licensees must include in their selection process a fit and proper assessment of duties, qualifications, experience, references, propriety checks and collective suitability, with verified information and signed declarations.

Standards 6.10-6.13

Fit and proper reassessments of heads of Shari'ah audit or control must be conducted with the ISSC on defined trigger events and Central Bank-requested triggers, beyond routine reappointment cycles.

Standards 6.14-6.20

Licensees must guide Authorized Individuals through Central Bank fit and proper documentation, collect required information, respond to information requests on time, and immediately notify the Central Bank of material changes.

Standards 6.21-6.22

Licensees must validate and submit comprehensive applicant and organizational documentation as part of the Fit and Proper assessment to the Central Bank.

Standards 6.23

Licensees finding a person deficient in any fit and proper factor must submit mitigating factors to the Central Bank, plus written justification or remediation plans for unmet qualifications.

Standards 7.1-7.6

Authorized individuals and material risk takers must be honest, ethical and of good reputation, with integrity established beyond reasonable doubt under a fifteen-point negative indicator checklist.

Standards 7.7-7.9

Authorised Individuals and MRTs must have the academic qualifications, competence, experience and theoretical knowledge for their role, assessed against a 10-point checklist and nine subject areas.

Standards 7.10-7.12

Financial conduct assessment for fitness and propriety reviews a person's solvency and prudent financial control, using a ten-point checklist covering debts, judgments, bankruptcy, credit references and arrears over 90 days.

Standards 7.13-7.19

Authorised Individuals and MRTs must show independent judgement and free-from-undue-influence; licensees must assess and limit external board seats, manage conflicts of interest, and disclose all conflict-creating interests to the Central Bank.

Standards 7.20-7.21

Licensees must assess a Person's time commitment, obtaining a list of other formal roles and a self-declaration of availability for submission to the Central Bank.

Standards 8.1-8.2

Licensees must set target board diversity representation and perform a Collective Suitability assessment for proposed Board appointees, submitting results to the Central Bank with the approval package.

Standards 8.3-8.4

Collective suitability assessments must consider business scope, business model and strategy, and risk appetite; licensees must adopt a tailored board induction and training policy with identified director training needs.

Standards 8.5

Collective suitability assessment of the Board must consider members' combined knowledge across at least thirteen topics, including governance, Islamic finance, risk management, money laundering, cyber risk, outsourcing, accounting and Group risks.

Standards 9.1-9.4

Licensees must submit a Board-approved annual training plan to the Central Bank at the start of each financial year, and continuing professional development hours must meet the minimum with no carryover between years.

Standards 9.5-9.7

Continuing professional development content must be directly relevant to the person's function, and licensees must document CPD breaches and inform the Central Bank of them.

Standards 10.1

Licensees must keep detailed fit and proper process records for all applicable persons, including verification sources, references, check evidence and assessment reports, and produce them to the Central Bank immediately on request.

Standards 10.2-10.3

Licensees must annually report to the Central Bank on vacant designated functions and continuing professional development by persons, plus any additional information the Central Bank prescribes.

Attachment 1

Licensees must obtain Central Bank Authorisation for listed Designated Functions, with lists varying by licensee type, such as banks, insurers, finance companies, and exchange houses.