Page 58 - Annual Report 2021 EN

/ 58
Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB)
In 2021, the QFCRA became a member of the IFSB
working group related to the development of a Technical
Note on Recovery and Resolution (TNRR) for Institutions
offering Islamic Financial Services. The primary objective
of the TNRR is to assist regulatory and supervisory
authorities to establish an effective RR framework for
Islamic financial firms. The working group has adopted
a supplementary approach to the Financial Stability
Board’s Key Attributes (KA) of Effective Resolution
Regimes for conventional financial institutions; and has
developed complementary standards and information
addressing the idiosyncrasies of Islamic Finance and
Shari’a compliance requirements applicable to each
KA. The IFSB will publish the final TNRR in 2022.
In October 2021, the QFCRA became a member
of the Working Group for the Revised IFSB Guiding
Principles on Corporate Governance for Institutions
offering Islamic Financial Services (Banking Segment).
The aim of this Working Group is to provide an
international benchmark standard, and to promote a
sound regulatory and supervisory system delivering
a fair, safe and stable Banking sector for the benefit
and protection of the interests of industry players,
customers and other relevant stakeholders.
International Association of
Insurance Supervisors (IAIS)
The QFCRA has been a member of the IAIS Operational
Resilience Task Force (ORTF) since 2020. The ORTF
aims to identify and assess factors and developments
that may affect operational resilience in the insurance
sector regarding IT third-party outsourcing and
insurance sector cyber resilience and take stock of
and review relevant best practices from both the (re)
insurers’ and supervisors’ perspectives. The QFCRA
continued its participation in the ORTF during 2021,
on its work to develop supervisory guidance in the field
of operational resilience, specifically on IT third-party
outsourcing and insurance sector cyber resilience.
Partnering with peer regulators
and other agencies in Qatar
The QFCRA has continued to work closely with the Qatar
Central Bank (QCB) and the Qatar Financial Markets
Authority (QFMA) under the auspices of the Financial
Stability and Risk Control Committee chaired by the
Governor of the QCB and Chairman of the QFCRA.
The QFCRA continues to participate in consultations
with the QCB, QFCA and the QFMA on new
and amended regulations and rules to provide
feedback, ensuring that the QCB, QFCA and QFMA
regulatory and legal frameworks remain relevant
and benchmarked to international best practices.
Partnering on FinTech initiatives
In 2021, the State of Qatar continued its work through
the Qatar National FinTech Task Force. Led by the QCB
and Qatar Development Bank, the task force brings
together Qatar’s three financial regulators and potential
FinTech stakeholders and market participants. The
QCB launched its sandbox banking service platform
to support and promote FinTech. This initiative
is part of the State’s objective to transform Qatar
into a knowledge-based society and enable the
country to emerge as a regional hub for innovative
technology and services. A QCB FinTech Committee
comprising QCB and QFCRA staff along with other
key Government stakeholders assessed the first
wave of applicants to the regulatory sandbox.
T ABLE OF C ONTENT S
Sustainability and Green Finance
The importance of the development of a long-
term sustainable finance strategy (i.e., addressing
environmental, social, and governance (ESG)) and
identifying and addressing risks related to climate
change are becoming an increasingly important
focus for the corporate and financial services sector,
international standard setters, and rating agencies, and
influencing the behaviour of consumers and investors.
In that connection, the QFCRA has undertaken
preparatory work with the QCB and the QFMA
to establish a working group in order to develop
and implement a national strategy and focussed
approach to sustainability issues addressing
considerations related to: (i) reorienting capital
flows towards sustainable investment to achieve
sustainable growth, (ii) managing financial risks
stemming from climate change, and (iii) fostering
transparent and long-termism in financial activity.
To this end, the QFCRA has engaged with the Network
for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) and the
International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF).
Moreover, the QFCRA aims to harness its own
involvement in global forums to bring global best-
practices to the development of sustainable finance
in the QFC and is a member of sustainable finance
networks within the IOSCO and the Toronto Centre.