On 1 January 2026, Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2025 and Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2025 took effect which establish the regulatory framework for the capital markets sector and the Capital Market Authority (CMA) in the UAE.
This step is part of the UAE’s ongoing programme to modernize the sector’s legislative and supervisory architecture, strengthen market stability, efficiency, and competitiveness, and ensure alignment with international best practices. It also reinforces institutional stability and the CMA’s role in maintaining market integrity and promoting fair, orderly competition.
Important developments include:
- Renaming the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) as the CMA.
- Introducing new regulated financial activities.
- Strengthening the CMA’s supervisory powers across the capital markets sector.
- Regulating the Investor Protection Fund and the Settlement Guarantee Fund.
- Defining the CMA’s role in prudential oversight and management of exceptional circumstances.
- Expanding dispute resolution powers, including the CMA’s ability to enter into conciliation prior to the initiation of criminal proceedings, which is a meaningful enhancement to early intervention, settlement, and resolution mechanisms and a step toward faster, more proportionate outcomes for market participants.
- Establishing jurisdiction to designate systemically important persons and to regulate early intervention, settlement, and resolution.
Why this matters
By elevating supervisory reach and introducing pre-prosecution conciliation, the UAE is signalling a pragmatic approach to market misconduct – prioritizing swift remediation, investor confidence, and orderly markets while reserving criminal processes for the egregious cases.
For stakeholders, the enhanced toolkit should translate into clearer accountability, more predictable outcomes, and a more resilient market structure aligned with global norms.
Please note that the English translations of the two federal decree laws are awaited. This post relies on publicly available information.