Average UAE resident owes more than $11,000
National Bank of Abu Dhabi report said total debt burden is up on 2015
The average UAE resident is saddled with AED42,571 ($11,590) of personal debt – and the figure has risen steadily for the past two years, according to National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD).
NBAD’s research reveals average per capita debt as of the third quarter of 2016 – the latest period for which data was available, it said.
The findings shows a slight drop in borrowings in the third quarter of last year compared to three months earlier when the figure was $42,585.
However, it is still higher than in the same period of 2015, when per capita debt from credit cards, car loans and other forms of personal borrowing reached AED41,240 ($11,228).
Per capita debt levels have risen gradually over the last 24 months, NBAD said, AED39,398 ($10,726) in the first quarter of 2015.
Overall, the value of UAE residents’ personal loans reached totalled AED434.23 billion as of the third quarter of 2016, up from AED430 billion in the second quarter.
Personal loans for consumption amounted to AED138.95 billion, while business-related loans hit AED295.28 billion, the research found.
NBAD senior economist Alp Eke told media: “There was a slight decline [in the third quarter]. Maybe this [downward] trend will continue. In my opinion, lending institutions have more strict guidelines because deposit growth is limited.”
Last month, the UAE Central Bank reported that total demand for business and personal loans eased slightly in the fourth quarter of 2016 but seems to have stabilised – a reflection of higher oil prices.
Respondents to the bank’s latest credit sentiment survey reported a tightening in credit standards in the final quarter, particularly in collateralisation requirements and premiums charged on riskier loans. This is expected to continue this quarter, but to a lesser extent, the bank said.
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