The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has recently entered into an agreement with the Portuguese banking supervisor, Banco de Portugal. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) commits the DFSA and Banco de Portugal to information sharing and co-operation in the supervision of financial institutions.

The MoU was signed on behalf of the DFSA by Chief Executive, Mr Paul Koster, having been signed earlier in Lisbon by Mr Carlos da Silva Costa, Governor of Banco de Portugal.

The Chief Executive of the DFSA, Mr Paul Koster said: “I am very pleased to have signed this agreement with Governor da Silva Costa as this initiative reflects each agency’s commitment to co-operation in relation to prudential oversight and inspections of authorised institutions in Portugal and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). It adopts the model for information sharing developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and acknowledges the call of the G20 and the Financial Stability Board promoting global adherence to international co-operation and information exchange standards.”

“Given the international nature of the Centre, the DFSA has always valued the importance of its links with and trust between supervisors and regulators. We now have a bi-lateral MoU network with more than 50 fellow regulators, including the central banks and banking supervisors in the UAE, UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Jordan, China, Singapore, and Japan.”