Thematic Review of Screening Systems (Capital Markets, 2026)

Thematic review of sanctions and name-screening systems in the UAE capital markets sector, covering background, scope, methodology and testing results.

Summary

The Capital Market Authority's 2026 Thematic Review of Screening Systems tested 46 name and transaction screening systems at 26 licensed financial institutions in the capital markets sector. It found that screening is in place everywhere, but performance falls away on spelling and transliteration variants and alert volumes are often too high. The review sets the CMA's expectations for calibration, independent testing and governance.

It was carried out under the CMA's risk-based supervision and in line with Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, its Executive Regulation and FATF standards. The scope covered name screening at onboarding and on an ongoing basis (customers, beneficial owners and related parties) and transaction screening of payment flows, mainly against the UN Security Council lists and the UAE local terrorism and sanctions lists (Section 3).

Testing used three datasets (Section 4.1): exact matches to measure baseline detection, variations such as spelling differences, alternative name order and Arabic-Latin transliteration, and clean data to measure false positives. Systems generally caught clear matches but varied on complex ones. Elevated volumes of non-relevant alerts pointed to poor calibration, and governance differed in how far senior management used performance data (Sections 5.1 to 5.4). Incomplete customer data, such as date of birth, nationality or identification details, can defeat even a well-configured system (Section 5.5).

Section 7 sets the expectations. Firms must keep systems calibrated to their risk profile and remain fully accountable even when they use a vendor. They must test regularly and independently with documented evidence, review system performance at senior management or committee level (for example quarterly), maintain timely list updates and data quality, and train staff. The CMA may ask for evidence of performance, testing and remediation. The review sets no penalties of its own.

Who it applies to

Licensed financial institutions in the UAE capital markets sector supervised by the Capital Market Authority, including those using vendor-supplied name or transaction screening systems, their compliance functions and senior management.

Contents

English official text in 16 provisions. Open the full text or jump to a provision:

1. 1 — Executive Summary
2. 2 — Background and Regulatory Context
3. 3 — Scope and Coverage
4. 4 — Methodology and Testing Approach
5. 4.1 — Testing Design
6. 4.2 — Performance Measurement
7. 4.3 — Benchmarking and Analysis
8. 5 — Key Findings
9. 5.1 — Name Screening Systems
10. 5.2 — Transaction Screening Systems
11. 5.3 — System Efficiency and False Positives
12. 5.4 — Governance and Oversight
13. 5.5 — Data, Systems, and Technology
14. 6 — Sectoral Insights and Development Trends
15. 7 — Supervisory Expectations
16. 8 — Conclusion

Key provisions

Obligations and deadlines

• Calibrate and tune screening systems to the firm's risk profile.
• Conduct regular, independent, documented testing, including after system changes.
• Review screening performance and testing outcomes at senior management or committee level, for example quarterly.
• Maintain timely sanctions list updates and complete customer identification data.

History and citations

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