"Financial Supervision Authority": New regulatory decision to expand the activities of the "Regional Center for Sustainable Finance and Carbon Markets"

Cairo – Noha Imam

The Board of Directors of the Financial Services Institute, chaired by Dr. Islam Ezzam, Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority, issued a decision to organize the Regional Center for Sustainable Finance and Carbon Markets. The aim is to expand the Center’s scope of operations to keep pace with the rapid developments in sustainable finance, climate finance, and carbon markets.

The decision provides a clear institutional definition of the Center’s role, designating it as the “technical expertise, research, and training hub of the Financial Services Institute in the field of sustainable finance.” The Center’s role is not limited to offering conventional training programs; it extends to capacity building, preparing studies and research, providing technical and advisory services, and producing guides, databases, indicators, and professional programs, thereby establishing it as a specialized knowledge and technical platform in sustainable finance.

The Center’s role does not encroach upon the regulatory, supervisory, oversight, or legislative competencies vested in the Authority or the General Administration for Sustainable Development. The decision clearly distinguishes between the production of knowledge and technical expertise on one hand, and the exercise of regulatory or supervisory authority on the other. Accordingly, the Center prepares studies, guides, programs, and training, and provides consultancy, but it does not replace the competent authorities in issuing regulations or exercising supervision or oversight.

The decision assigns the Center a broad range of responsibilities, including the preparation and implementation of training programs, studies and research, technical guides and working papers, databases, and the organization of conferences, as well as capacity building, the provision of advisory and technical services, and the development of professional programs and performance indicators.

Its competencies also include supporting innovation in sustainable finance instruments, developing professional certification programs, training trainers and experts, establishing a Sustainable Finance Observatory, and creating a digital library, protected digital archives, and data rules, in addition to developing curricula, training guides, and applied research.