UAE central bank mulls plan to lower nationals' debt

The UAE’s central bank is considering a proposal to lower the debt of UAE nationals, the central bank said. “The board reviewed proposal by the chairman regarding settlement of personal consumer loans, for the purpose of reducing debt burden of UAE nationals, and directed that the proposal to be followed-up with the concerned agencies in the UAE,” according to a statement posted on the central bank’s website. It did not provide further details. Al-Ittihad reported yesterday that the central bank may put a cap on personal loan repayments by UAE nationals. The proposal would cost the banks operating in the UAE as much as AED800m (US$218m) a year, the newspaper said.