United Arab Bank Said to Explore $800 Million Sale of Bad Debt - Bloomberg

United Arab Bank Said to Explore $800 Million Sale of Bad Debt - Bloomberg

United Arab Bank PJSC is exploring the sale of roughly $800 million in bad debt, people familiar with the matter said, the latest Gulf bank attempting to clean up its balance sheet.

Sharjah-based UAB, whose biggest shareholder is a Qatari bank, is working with Rothschild & Co. on the sale, the people said, asking not be named as the information is private. Talks are still at an early stage and there’s no guarantee a deal might happen, according to the people.

Rothschild declined to comment while UAB wasn’t immediately available to comment.

Banks in the United Arab Emirates are increasingly turning to selling bad debt as a way to shore up their balance sheets. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC recently sold around $1.4 billion in bad debt to US hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, Bloomberg reported, the second such transaction between the two parties.

At the start of this year, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a portfolio of soured loans worth around $800 million from the country’s largest bank. Banks in Saudi Arabia are also exploring similar deals, Bloomberg has previously reported.