The UAE central bank has rolled out new rules aiming at
limiting loans to individuals and capping bank fees in the country, it said in
a statement Sunday.
The central bank has limited personal loans at 20 times the
salary or the monthly income of a borrower with a repayment period set at 48
months, the statement said.
The central bank set details of processing charges and fees
that banks can charge for loans and credit and debit cards among other items.
Details about bank fees were not provided.
Central bank governor Sultan Nasser al-Suweidi said earlier
this month the regulator would come up with new rules to cap excessive banking
charges.
“Banks have increased their fees and commission rates and
not interest rates,” he said.
“There is a new set of regulations that are coming, and the
central bank will intervene because matters are getting out of control,” he
said.
Dubai’s burst property bubble left UAE banks with heavy
exposure to the emirate’s indebted state-owned firms, dragging down the
oil-reliant UAE economy.
Despite signs of revival and improved liquidity in the OPEC
member’s banking system, loans to the private sector had been down for 11
months in a row until the end of October 2010.
*With agencies
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