DFSA signs MoU with Swedish counterpart

Notes and media contacts

About The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA):
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) is the independent regulator of financial and ancillary services conducted through the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a purpose-built financial free-zone in Dubai. The DFSA's regulatory mandate covers asset management, banking and credit services, securities, collective investment funds, custody and trust services, commodities futures trading, Islamic finance, insurance, an international equities exchange and an international commodities derivatives exchange.

The Finansinspektionen (FI) was established in 1991 with the aim of creating a single integrated regulator covering banking, securities and insurance. FI's role is to promote stability and efficiency in the financial system as well as to ensure an effective consumer protection. The FI authorises, supervises and monitors all companies operating in the Swedish financial markets and supervises banks and other credit institutions; securities companies and fund management companies; stock exchanges and clearing houses; Insurance companies, insurance brokers and friendly societies.

Paul M Koster was appointed Chief Executive of the DFSA on 1 December, 2008. He is the former Commissioner and Member of the Executive Board of the Autoriteit Financiële Markten (Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets). Other positions previously held by him include Executive Vice President (Corporate Internal Audit), Royal Philips Electronics 1998-2001; Managing Partner Corporate Finance, Coopers & Lybrand 1988-1998; Chief Compliance Officer and Acting Commissioner of Quotations, Amsterdam Stock Exchange 1986-1988; and carried out a number of senior finance functions in his earlier career, having trained as an accountant with Arthur Andersen.

He is a licensed Registered (Chartered) Accountant and served as Chair of CESR-Fin from May 2006-December 2007 and was Chair of SISE (sub-committee on international standards endorsement) within CESR from May 2004-April 2006. He was also a member of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and represented the Netherlands on IOSCO's Chairs committees. He is a Dutch national, married and has two adult children.

Martin Andersson was appointed Director General of the FI on 15 January 2009, following a period as a consultant to the Bank of England, Norges Bank and the IMF. For seven years prior to 2007, Mr Andersson was Head of the Financial Stability Department, the Riksbank (Sweden's Central Bank) and before that he was Head of the Financial Systems Unit and Economist and Adviser in the Financial Markets Department and the Payment Systems Department at the bank.

He began his career in 1990 as a currency and day load trader and in 1992 he joined the Gothenburg Research Institute as a researcher. Mr Andersson has been a member of the Group of Ten's (G10) Committee on the Global Financial System since 1998 and the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems since 1999 and is also Chairman of the G10's Working Group on Central Bank Oversight.


For further information, please contact:
Ms Angharad Irving - Jones
Manager, Communications and Strategic Planning
Dubai Financial Services Authority
Level 13, The Gate
Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971 4 362 1661
Fax: +971 4 362 0801