Khaled Humaidan: Digital transformation is an essential element for enhancing financial stability and expanding the growth horizons of the financial services sector

Khaled Ibrahim Humaidan, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, stressed that digital transformation will be a decisive factor in enhancing financial stability, as it will provide new opportunities for growth. He also pointed out that the development of control technology and data-based financial infrastructure will contribute to establishing more flexible and efficient financial systems.

This came during participation in a high-level panel discussion entitled “Emerging Risks and Trends within Financial Systems in the Arab World,” which was held as part of the twentieth Financial Stability Meeting, jointly organized by the Arab Monetary Fund and the Financial Stability Institute of the Bank for International Settlements, and hosted by the United Arab Emirates Central Bank in the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi.

During the session, the Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain stressed that digital tools are radically reshaping the regulatory landscape. He also addressed the importance of real-time data, improved analytics, and emerging supervisory technology applications in providing a progressive view of market developments to supervisory authorities, which contributes to enhancing the discovery of potential gaps and the comprehensive prudential oversight response.

He noted that the region stands at an important crossroads, as digital adoption in the areas of payments, credit assessment, guarantee systems and regulatory processes can accelerate growth and improve efficiency, in addition to expanding access to financial services and enabling more accurate, data-based decision-making. He stressed that continued investment in digital infrastructure, competencies and organizational innovation will be key to fully unlocking the growth potential of the sector.

In addition to Khaled Ibrahim Humaidan, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, Yahya Shinar, Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority, and Abdul Rahim Bouazza, General Manager of the Bank of Morocco, participated in the discussion session. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Fahd bin Mohammed Al Turki, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Monetary Fund.