Country Manual Private Banking
Dubai IFC
out of Bank’s Country of Establishment (Def, RS, BT & RT)
| Source of changes | Answers |
|---|---|
| Law / Regulation | Yes |
| New Position of the Authorities | No |
| Evolution of Expert’s Interpretation | Yes |
Regulatory Template, Regulatory Summary and Behaviour Template
Material changes
The DIFC Regulatory Law No.1 of 2004 was amended during 2005 to enhance the powers and efficiency of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), in particular with respect to financial crime and recovery/resolution of failing firms. The changes do not materially affect the PB Manual.
There have been some changes to DIFC rules since the last update of this manual. The DFSA routinely amends its Rulebook.
Operating a Representative Office – With regard to occasional promotional visits to the DIFC, note that over-reliance on promotional exemptions by a foreign bank on a prolonged basis during such visits may be deemed by the DFSA to be operating a representative office which would itself require a DFSA licence. The DFSA now considers that in the context of financial promotions made onsite, “a regular basis” would be anything more than occasional and “a prolonged period” would usually be anything more than five consecutive days. Previously it was three days. This provides more flexibility than before in avoiding the requirement to have a local representative office.
Changes To Answers And Comments
With regard to various changes introduced as a result of changes in interpretation:
There is a new comment included for promotion and negotiation activities – “In compliance with financial promotion rules”. This is to emphasise that where a foreign bank is relying on an exemption to the DFIC Financial Promotions Prohibition it must take reasonable care to ensure that any financial promotion it makes in the DIFC:
is clear, fair and not misleading;
includes the credit institution’s name, address and regulatory status;
if it is intended only for deemed Professional Clients, it is not sent or directed to any person who appears on reasonable grounds not to be such a Professional Client, and contains a clear statement that only a person meeting the criteria for deemed Professional Clients should act upon it; and
follows certain guidelines in the event it is targeted at non-qualified clients or contains any information or representation relating to past performance.
Changes in detail by activity type:
Prospecting and Negotiation Activity on Bank’s initiative
For active and passive onsite socialising the comment on an occasional basis has been added.
The answers for Presenting the Bank in General Terms by remote means are now Grey zone/YES as opposed to YES – there should be no promotion of services or products for non-qualified clients and promotion to deemed professional clients is permitted in compliance with financial promotion rules.
The answers for Providing the Bank’s Annual Report and Press Reviews by remote means is now Grey zone/YES there should be no promotion of services or products for non-qualified clients (previous answer was NO) and promotion to deemed professional clients is permitted in compliance with financial promotion rules.
For Providing Marketing Brochures, Presenting Banking Services, Providing Documentation on Banking Services, Presenting Investment Services and Providing Documentation on Investment Services in respect of Qualified Clients the additional comment “In compliance with financial promotion rules” has been added.
For active negotiation activities with Qualified Clients the additional comment “In compliance with financial promotion rules” has been added.
Prospecting and Negotiation Activity on Client’s initiative
For Presenting the Bank in General Terms, Providing the Bank’s Annual Report and Press Reviews, Providing Marketing Brochures, Presenting Banking Services, Providing Documentation on Banking Services, Presenting Investment Services and Providing Documentation on Investment Services in respect of both Non-qualified and Qualified Clients the comment “In compliance with financial promotion rules” has been added. This is to reflect the use of financial promotion exemptions for reverse solicitation or deemed professional clients as appropriate. Use of an exemption requires compliance with DFSA rules as discussed above. Answers that were previously YES for such activities by remote means are now Grey zone/YES.
For passive negotiation activities with Non-qualified and Qualified Clients the additional comment “In compliance with financial promotion rules” has been added.
For passive collection of relevant supporting documentation onsite the answers are now Grey zone/Yes – on an occasional basis – rather than YES.
Activity related to Cards
For activity on the Bank’s initiative relating to offering a debit or credit card and collecting or receiving a signed debit or credit card agreement the comment “In compliance with financial promotion rules” has been added where the answer is Grey zone/YES.
For actively providing a debit card the comment no promotion of financial services has been added for qualified clients.
For passively offering a debit card or a credit card the answers for Qualified and Non-qualified clients are now Grey zone/YES with the comment “In compliance with financial promotion rules”. The same comment has been added for passive collection/receipt of a signed debit card agreement.
For passively providing a debit or credit card the comment no promotion of financial services has been added for non-qualified and qualified clients.
Lombard Credit
For activity on the Bank’s initiative relating to offering Lombard credit and collecting or receiving a signed Lombard credit agreement the comment “In compliance with financial promotion rules” has been added where the answer is Grey zone/YES for qualified clients. The comment “Provided the account was opened in compliance with cross-border rules has been deleted.
For passively offering Lombard credit onsite and by remote means the answers are Grey zone/YES with the comment “In compliance with financial promotion rules”. The same comment has been added for passive collection/receipt of a signed Lombard credit agreement.
Advisory Activity
For active and passive remote provision of Generic Recommendation Lists, Personalised Recommendation Lists and Ongoing Advice based on an Investment Advisory Agreement the comment “only toward a limited number of prospects/clients” has been added. This reflects the view that the DFSA would not be concerned by isolated and sporadic cases of financial services provided via remote means of communication into the DIFC, but rather by the mass, systematic provision of financial services to a large number of DIFC clients into the DIFC.
Sanctions
There is now wording in the Sanctions Section to that emphasise Article 65 of the DIFC Regulatory Law addresses the unenforceability of agreements made in breach of the financial services prohibition. If a person enters into an agreement while conducting a financial service in violation of the Financial Services Prohibition or as a result of a prohibited financial promotion, the agreement is unenforceable.
Non-material changes
Some content has been amended and/or slightly reworded (without introducing material changes) to reflect the regulatory situation/current interpretation of the regulatory framework more accurately.
BT Short Comparison
This document allows users to quickly identify the modifications made compared to the previous version of the PB Manual (BT Short Comparison). The BT Short Comparison can be found on BRP’s platform (mybrponline) in the Search tab by entering in the Document Field “CM PB BT SHORT COMP” and “DIFC” in the Target Country Field.
The BT Short Comparison should be read as follows:
The first column contains a short description of the activity in question. The second column contains the answers of the previous version of the Country Manual (online until the day of the alert). The third column contains the new answers of the most recent version of the Country Manual. Only the modified answers are displayed (in colour). If the answers in the new version are unchanged compared to the previous version, they are shaded in grey.
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Geneva, December 8th, 2025