Tough 2010 for banks in Dubai, Kuwait - Moody's, S&P

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Banks in Dubai and Kuwait will endure a tougher 2010 than their Gulf peers as lenders in the region continue to take provisions against bad credit, which will curtail profits, ratings agencies said.

"We believe that 2010 will be another difficult year for Gulf banks as they continue to clean up their loan books -- an effort that will weigh on their financial performance," ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said late on Monday.

The United Arab Emirates banks' specific provisions for non-performing loans (NPL) stood at 33.4 billion dirhams ($9.09 billion) in January 2010, a 64 percent surge from a year earlier, according to Central Bank data released on Tuesday.