#UAE banks to maintain 'stable' credit profiles in 2020, S&P says - The National

UAE banks to maintain 'stable' credit profiles in 2020, S&P says - The National:

Banks in the UAE are expected to remain resilient despite tougher operating conditions this year, as Abu Dhabi’s fiscal stimulus helps propel the emirate’s economy and Expo 2020 boosts tourism activity in Dubai, according to S&P Global Ratings.

Despite pressure on margins, the rating agency expects a “mid-single-digit net lending expansion in 2020”, S&P said in its latest report on banks it rates in the country. Lending growth in the country slowed slightly to 4.5 per cent on annualised basis in the first nine months of 2019, but the ratings agency expects a pick-up to 5 or 6 per cent in this year. 

“In 2020, we expect the UAE economy will expand at a slightly higher pace compared with 2019, thanks to Abu Dhabi's $13.6 billion (Dh50bn) stimulus package,” S&P credit analyst Puneet Tuli wrote in the report released on Monday. “The Dubai government's planned investments for the 2020 World Expo …. should prop-up investments in the non-oil economy and increase tourism-related activities.”