A storm from out of clear blue skies

The first half of last year was stellar for the UAE’s banks by virtually any measure.

Profits were more than healthy, loan books had grown by almost 50 per cent, and the development boom and high oil prices that let banks rake in the gains seemed unlikely to slow down.

“The UAE banking sector should continue to enjoy robust top and bottom line growth,” Deepak Tolani, an analyst at Al Mal Capital in Dubai, wrote in a research note in May last year.