The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has won the "Best Risk Management 2026" award at the Central Banking Awards presented by the British magazine "Central Banking".

The award is given in recognition of central banks that achieve exceptional excellence in adopting systematic global practices for risk management.

According to a press release issued by the Central Bank today, this recognition comes as a culmination of the Bank's efforts and in recognition of its pioneering role in upgrading operational risk management, and the qualitative transformation from traditional valuation models to a proactive system supported by artificial intelligence technologies, as the Bank has succeeded in establishing an integrated risk management vision that ensures comprehensive coverage of all stages of the value chain, through the strategic integration of artificial intelligence technologies and an integrated framework for governance, risk and compliance.

The most significant milestone was the development of an internal AI-based Risk Agent, which reduced time to identify risks and reduced reliance on manual procedures, enabling proactive monitoring of complex risks at key operational stages.

The innovations have been formally included in the Central Bank's five-year strategy, based on the principle of "Resilience by Design", to establish risk management maturity as a key pillar of the business and innovation ecosystem.

On this occasion, the award's jury praised the central bank's unified and comprehensive approach to risk management, describing it as an inspiring model for its counterparts from central banks globally.

While many institutions are making incremental improvements, the UAE Central Bank has implemented a more transformative and comprehensive approach, which has been in place to establish an integrated and unified enterprise-wide risk landscape, which has helped achieve tangible results by reducing duplication of operations, and the awards are scheduled to be formally handed over at the Central Banking meetings in London, June 2026.

This global recognition reflects the Central Bank of the UAE's commitment to integrating modern technologies with robust methodologies, ensuring a proactive response to sophisticated and complex threats, and improving decision-making accuracy, thereby enhancing the Central Bank's global leadership position in supporting monetary and financial stability.

H.E. Khalid Mohammed Bel-Amma, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, said that this international achievement reflects the great support of the wise leadership, as well as the aspirations, directives and close follow-up of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the UAE, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of the UAE, in consolidating the bank's position as a global reference for excellence and leadership in financial and supervisory work.

"We have succeeded in building an advanced regulatory system that integrates digital innovation with the methodological foundations of risk management, as the establishment of artificial intelligence pillars at the heart of our operational risk management has enabled us to enhance our capabilities and move towards proactive control in the face of global financial transformations and emerging risks.