Solely aggregation of news articles, with no opinions expressed by this service since 2009 launch on this platform. Copyright to all articles remains with the original publisher and HEADLINES ARE CLICKABLE to access the whole article at source. (Subscription by email is recommended,with real-time updates on LinkedIn and Twitter.)
Wednesday 27 January 2010
Bank battens down hatches in a storm
Being a bank in the UAE lately has been about as easy as staying adrift in a leaky boat during a nasty storm.
Property loan books have felt the brunt of price declines in Dubai, estimated at up to 50 per cent in some places. Corporate lending has not provided much shelter, either, due to defaults last year at several large regional firms. If banks thought retail loans might rescue them, they were wrong. Defaults on everything from credit cards to mortgages rose last year, bankers say.
As if that is not enough, they are also coping with competition for deposits that has made bringing in new money more costly. That, in turn, has pushed some lenders to increase rates on loans and revise how they calculate interest on variable-rate mortgages, a move that has caused considerable tension with customers.
No comments:
Post a Comment