• 182 new firms licenced and registered in DIFC in 2025, a 16% increase on 2024 – and third consecutive year of double-digit registration growth.
• Fund management sector remains core to DIFC’s ecosystem, expanding to 121 Authorised Firms, and 276 funds in total. Within the broader wealth and asset management sector, assets under management rose to US$ 176 billion up 4% year on year, and assets under advisory at US$ 220 billion up 22% year on year.
• Strong 15% growth in the insurance sector, particularly within reinsurance, reinforcing DIFC’s position as a regional hub.
• Combined balance sheets of banks operating in DIFC reached US$ 251 billion, representing a 19% year-on-year increase and a 195% increase from 2015.
• Over-the-counter (OTC) market saw over 100% growth in value and volume of transactions with US$ 13 trillion in Q4 2025.

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the independent banking, financial services, and markets regulator of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), today published its 2025 Annual Report: Shaping the Financial Markets of the Future. 2025 marked a third consecutive year of double-digit growth across DIFC’s financial ecosystem: the DFSA licensed and registered 182 new firms – a 16% increase on 2024 – bringing the total number of regulated entities to 1,050, spanning banking, capital markets, wealth and asset management, insurance, and fintech. Since the close of the reporting period on 31 December 2025, Dubai has advanced to seventh place globally in the Global Financial Centres Index (39) published in March 2026 – its highest-ever ranking – reflecting the sustained international confidence in the Emirate’s economic strength, regulatory environment, and long-term strategy.

The report comes amid continued momentum within DIFC and Dubai’s financial sector: building on DIFC’s position as the leading international financial centre across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) region, Dubai continues to advance its ambition of becoming a global top four hub for finance, investment, and innovation by 2033 under the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) and DIFC 2030 Strategy.

Fadel Al Ali, Chairman, DFSA said: “The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) continues to support the rapid growth of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), in line with the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) and DIFC 2030 strategies, which seek to position the Emirate as a global top four hub for finance, investment, and innovation by 2033.

In 2025, we welcomed 182 regulated entities into our jurisdiction, bringing the total number to 1,050 – our third consecutive year of double-digit growth. Today, this dynamic and thriving ecosystem includes the vast majority of global systemically important banks (G-SIBs), as well as an extensive network of wealth and asset managers, capital markets firms, banks, insurers, auditors, and professional services firms.

The recent Global Financial Centres Index placing Dubai seventh globally – its highest-ever position – reflects the strength of what we are building together. Our 2025 Annual Report: Shaping the Financial Markets of the Future, reflects our shared national vision of developing the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, and DIFC into the world’s centre of choice for financial services; a place that does not just help to lead the future of the industry, but actively shapes it.”

Mark Steward, Chief Executive, DFSA stated: “As outlined within our Annual Report: Shaping the Financial Markets of the Future, 2025 saw a third consecutive year of double digit growth in Dubai’s International Financial Centre. This signals continued strong confidence in DIFC and Dubai, and a broadening and deepening of the ecosystem, underscored by the DFSA’s risk-based, international regulatory environment.

This momentum has continued into 2026 against a backdrop of ongoing global uncertainty. In times of uncertainty, investors look for jurisdictions like DIFC with strong risk-based regulatory frameworks and approaches,  institutional depth, and long-term strategic credibility. The response over the last months, from my DFSA colleagues, as well as our stakeholders in both the government and from the banking, insurance, and financial sectors, has been outstanding as we continue to lay the groundwork for the future of financial markets.”

Driving sustainable, scalable, and high-quality growth

The report outlines strong performance across the financial services sector, with sustained growth in licensed firms, market participants, and financial activity throughout 2025. The DFSA continued to attract high-quality institutions and foster an environment that supports long-term, sustainable expansion across banking, insurance, capital markets, fintech, and wealth and asset management.

Authorisation activity remained robust, with 182 new firms licenced and registered, bringing the total to 1,050 regulated entities – a 16% increase from 2024 – reflecting strong and sustained demand from international and regional firms seeking to establish operations in DIFC. The report also highlights continued diversification across the financial ecosystem and growing recognition of DIFC as a gateway to regional and global markets.

Key sector highlights:

• Capital Markets: The DFSA continued its efforts to deepen and enhance Dubai’s capital markets ecosystem through regulatory improvements, infrastructure enhancements, and initiatives aimed at increasing market participation and investor confidence. During 2025, the total value of new debenture listings reached US$ 30.6 billion, bringing outstanding listings to US$ 147.4 billion. DIFC maintained its position as one of the world’s leading jurisdictions for sukuk, with US$ 107.9 billion in outstanding listings. OTC market saw unprecedented growth on value and volume of transactions with US$ 13 trillion in Q4 2025.
• Wealth and Asset Management: The sector continued to represent a core pillar of the DIFC ecosystem, both in scale and depth. The fund management sector expanded to 121 Authorised Firms, with USD$ 176 billion in assets under management – reflecting the UAE’s growing position as a jurisdiction of choice for fund structuring and management. More broadly, the sector comprises over 320 Authorised Firms with US$ 220 billion in assets under advisory. DIFC has become a top five global hub for hedge funds, with 87 registered in the Centre, including two of the world's largest.
• Banking: Driven by disciplined growth and client confidence, the consolidated balance sheet of DIFC banks reached US$ 251 billion as at Q4 2025, a 19% year-on-year increase and a 195% increase from year-end 2015. Private banking continued to expand, with assets under advisory reaching US$ 103.8 billion, representing 23% year-on-year growth, and a client base of over 14,000 – further reinforcing DIFC’s position as a leading centre for wealth activity.
• Insurance: The sector demonstrated continued strong growth, with a 15% increase in insurance-related entities, reinforcing DIFC’s position as a leading regional hub. As of 31 December 2025, the aggregate amount of gross written premium reached a record high of US$ 4.24 billion by reinsurers and reinsurance underwriters and US$ 3.38 billion by insurance brokers, reflecting increased capacity, product offerings, and market participation.
• Enforcement and Market Integrity: The DFSA maintained a proactive supervisory and enforcement approach throughout 2025, reinforcing accountability, transparency, and compliance across the financial sector.  The Enforcement team progressed 17 matters at the investigative stage – nine complex and eight standard – concluding seven by year-end. The DFSA received 322 complaints regarding firms or individuals within its jurisdiction, resolving 81% within 28 days, and issued 49 consumer alerts – a 69% increase on 2024 – reflecting heightened vigilance against scams and unauthorised activity targeting the DIFC market.

Shaping policy through strategic collaboration

A key theme of the 2025 Annual Report is the importance of collaboration in shaping the future regulatory environment. Throughout the year, the DFSA worked closely with government entities, international standard-setting bodies, financial institutions, and industry stakeholders to strengthen policy frameworks and support market development.

The Authority expanded its international engagement through strategic partnerships, regulatory dialogues, and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with peer regulators and global organisations, reinforcing DIFC’s role as an active contributor to the evolution of international financial regulation and best practice. By year-end 2025, the DFSA was a signatory to 120 MoUs, five multilateral MoUs, and eight innovation agreements – facilitating regulatory cooperation and collaboration across jurisdictions.

Innovating responsibly and managing risk

As innovation accelerates across global finance, the DFSA continued its efforts to balance technological advancement with effective risk management and regulatory oversight.

During 2025, the Authority introduced and enhanced frameworks covering digital finance, digital assets, sustainable finance, and technology-enabled financial services, whilst strengthening supervisory capabilities designed to safeguard market integrity and investor confidence. The DFSA’s Tokenisation Regulatory Sandbox – launched in March 2025 – attracted 96 expressions of interest from firms across six jurisdictions, demonstrating strong global appetite for DIFC’s regulated innovation pathway. The DFSA’s annual artificial intelligence (AI) survey revealed that 52% of DIFC firms actively used AI in 2025, up from 33% in 2024, with generative AI adoption increasing 166% year-on-year – underlining the pace of technological change across the financial sector and the importance of proportionate, risk-based regulatory oversight.

Driving operational excellence

The DFSA’s commitment to operational excellence was reflected throughout 2025 in continued investment in regulatory efficiency, digital transformation, and organisational capability. With the launch of DFSA Connect – a next-generation online platform for authorisation and approvals processes – the DFSA saw a 25% increase in authorisation applications whilst maintaining service quality and regulatory rigour.

As Dubai continues its rise toward being a top four global financial centre by 2033, the DFSA’s 2025 Annual Report reflects a more modern and forward-looking vision aligned with the evolving financial landscape, highlighting the Authority’s role in enabling sustainable, scalable, and high-quality growth across DIFC’s financial ecosystem while reinforcing market integrity, resilience, and innovation.

The full DFSA Annual Report 2025: Shaping the Financial Markets of the Future is available at:

• DFSA Annual Report 2025 – English
• DFSA Annual Report 2025 – Arabic

Fadel Al Ali, Chairman, DFSA (right) and Mark Steward, Chief Executive, DFSA (left)