UAE Central Bank Orders Speedy Mortgage Review

The United Arab Emirates’ central bank said on Saturday it wanted to finalise a review of regulations on mortgages, banks’ loan exposure and liquidity to make sure they were put into practice quickly.

The central bank has imposed regulations to limit risk at UAE commercial banks three times over the past year, but has then backed off from enforcing them after complaints from the banks.

“The Board instructed speedy finalisation of the review of all articles of the said regulations to expedite approval and ensure timely implementation thereof,” the central bank said in a statement.

Saeed Abdulla al-Hamiz, assistant central bank governor for banking supervision, said on Wednesday the central bank must act this year to push forward the previously issued rules and policies.

In January, the central bank said it would not enforce curbs on residential mortgage loans as a proportion of property values that it had set three weeks earlier.

Last year it announced rules limiting banks’ exposure to state-linked borrowers and rules requiring them to hold a certain ratio of their assets in the form of liquid instruments. Both initiatives were suspended in December after discussions with banks.

“The board also discussed a number of issues relating to liquidity levels and ratios aimed at achieving a sustainable balance between deposits and loans at banks operating in the UAE,” the central bank added on Saturday.