Page 12 - Annual Report 2019

09 ANNUAL REPORT 2019

CEO’s Statement

Our Annual Report records the progress that the Regulatory Authority has
continued to make in positioning the Qatar Financial Centre as an international
financial centre that leads in promoting confidence among its firms and
customers through a sustained commitment to international standards
and transparency. In pursuing our objectives, we are also in the third year of
working with our colleagues at the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) and the Qatar
Financial Markets Authority (QFMA) to realise the goals and objectives of
the Second Strategic Plan for Financial Sector Regulation (2017-2022) (SSP).
Guided by this strategy, we collaborate on matters that are central to the
success of financial regulation in Qatar, such as maintaining the integrity of,
and confidence in, the financial system and developing human capital.
Policy initiatives were a key focus at the Regulatory Authority in 2019,
with significant steps taken to introduce both new rules and amendments
to existing regulatory legislation. In June 2019, following an extensive
consultation, we introduced leverage ratio rules relating to the implementation
of the Basel III framework as set out in the standards published by the Basel
Committee on Banking Supervision and the Islamic Financial Services Board.
The leverage ratio is a supplementary prudential measure to the risk-based
capital requirements under the Basel Accords framework. Also, in June
2019, we introduced amendments to various rulebooks, including changes
to the Collective Investment Schemes Rules 2010 (“COLL”) in respect of
Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”). The COLL changes were designed to
create regulatory alignment with the QFMA funds listing rules for REITs.