UAE central bank tells staff to work remotely

Dubai - Lenders also asked to ensure enough cash will be available at ATMs

The Central Bank of the UAE has asked its employees to work remotely and replace larger group meetings with virtual meeting channels in order to better combat with the coronavirus pandemic, said a statement on Wednesday.
It also told local banks to ensure that ATMs are equipped with sufficient cash should there be a change in branches' hours.
"The central bank [has] started asking their employees to work remotely in accordance with the business continuity plan and replacing   large group meetings whether internal or external with virtual meeting channels. Moreover, staff at at central bank branches dealing with cash are asked to strictly comply with sanitisation procedures and communication with companies that transport cash to and from branches have been ongoing to ensure operations are ongoing and mode of handling cash is with gloves and not bare hands," the apex bank said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The central bank has established internal committees to ensure necessary measures are taken to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 inside its headquarters and branches including providing fundamental preventive sanitisation requirements and constantly communicating guidelines to protect oneself from Covid-19.
"We are closely monitoring the development of the Covid-19 outbreak and working with banks and other stakeholders to provide appropriate assistance as necessary to support the economy and minimise adverse impact on financial stability and economic growth," said central bank governor Mubarak Rashed Al Mansoori said.
Another committee has been established to communicate with banks advising on preparedness of business continuity plans confirming no disruption to critical services to individual consumers or corporates in the case of reacting to Covid-19.
"Banks should be ready to have sufficient cash loaded at their ATMs and available at branches and banks are asked to keep customers updated should there be change of branch hours or closures. Furthermore, banks are asked to ensure their digital channels are equipped to handle flow of usage," the central bank said.
- waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com