United Arab Bank signs agreement with Nationals' Defaulted Debts Settlement Fund

Agreement will relieve Emirati customers in financial stress

Sharjah, UAE (November 16, 2014) – United Arab Bank (‘UAB’), the fastest growing bank in the UAE, has signed an agreement with the Nationals’ Defaulted Debts Settlement Fund (NDDSF), to settle the debts of Emirati customers incapable of fulfilling their liabilities to the bank.

The initiative – targets at Emirati borrowers with debts less than AED 5 million – will reduce the burden of personal loans of defaulters. UAB agreed to waive 50 per cent of debtors’ loans. The other half will be settled by NDDSF, to be reimbursed by deducting payments from the debtor’s salary.

The agreement was signed at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs in the capital, in the presence of Mohammed Abdullah Al Rumaithi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs and Deputy Chairman of the Higher Committee of the Nationals' Defaulted Debts Settlement Fund, as well as Sheikh Mohammed Al Nuaimi, Executive Vice President, Mohamad Al Mansouri, Assistant of the Executive General Management and Asma Al Shuweihi, Assistant Head of Retail Collection and Recovery at UAB.

Paul Trowbridge, Chief Executive Officer at UAB said: “UAB’s agreement with the National’s Defaulted Debt Settlement Fund is an important step to support the most vulnerable Emiratis – those whose financial circumstances make their burden of debt insurmountable. It enables them to bring their liabilities under control – as a manageable proportion of their income – while ensuring they cannot spiral back into unmanageable circumstances. The agreement also makes great sense from UAB’s financial perspective, as it ensures fair and compassionate treatment of all our customers while allowing us to recover a significant percentage of our non-performing loans.”  

The Nationals’ Defaulted Debts Settlement Fund was launched with an initial budget of Dh10 billion under a decree issued by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to mark the 40th National Day of the UAE on December 2, 2011. It oversees mechanisms enabling banks to settle unpaid debts for UAE nationals who are in detention and pending execution of trial, convicted, or settling their debts through installment schedules set by the courts.