NBAD to offer UAE's first IVF fertility loans

National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has become the first lender in the UAE to offer special loans aimed at helping families undergoing IVF fertility treatments, it was announced.

NBAD IVF Fertility Financing will be offered in conjunction with the Emirates Family Network (EFN), a non-profit agency chaired by HH Sheikha Hind Bint Abdul Aziz Al Qassimi.

The loan is the first of its kind in the UAE and will offer families up to AED100,000 (US$27,224) towards the cost of medical fertility treatments and is available to UAE nationals and expatriate residents.

Under the terms of the agreement, couples must repay the loans within a year and interest rates are charged at 6.49 percent.

"The issue of infertility for some spouses has become one of the major issues that affect family stability, and all consider giving birth as a beautiful and natural event," said Sheikha Dr Hind bint Abdul Aziz Al Qassimi.

Around 7,000 IVF treatments are estimated to take place in the UAE each year, costing around AED20,000 per session. Couples usually need an average of three or four sessions before they can successfully conceive.