The UAE Central Bank says lenders have been receptive to new retail rules designed to curb high service fees and excessive lending.
Banks will have to start complying with the changed retail lending system when it becomes law from May 1.
"Banks have been broadly supportive," said a Central Bank spokesman, who asked to remain anonymous.
However, the regulator will consider making changes to the rules, even after May 1, if enough lenders raise concerns about the new regime, said the spokesman.
"The Central Bank will take all the comments and responses from banks [into consideration] and if there's a valid point … it's possible to change if there's good reason," he said.
The limits cover personal and car loans, with caps for the amount banks can lend to customers at 20 times their salary and the maximum period of loan repayment at 48 months. In addition, the rules restrict the service fees lenders can charge for personal accounts, cheques and debit cards.
Officials met banking representatives last week to discuss the legislation. During the meeting the regulator rejected a request by banks to extend the deadline for the rules to give lenders more time to prepare, Al Khaleej newspaper reported last week.
Analysts have already suggested the rules may dent bank profits by slowing lending activity and stunting fee-income generation.
Banks have already been consulted about the changes. As a standard practice, the Central Bank asked banks their views about any proposed revisions to the law before they became final, said Sulaiman al Mazroui, the chairman of the Bankers' Business Group in the UAE.
"We raised a lot of issues about lending limits as some were established in the 1980s or 1990s and required a review," he said.
"The Central Bank has come up with what they consider to be most useful regulations for the economy and consumers."
A tide of bad consumer debt linked to the global downturn led to proposals to tighten lending limits. Banks were previously free to extend hefty loans to consumers because of relaxed borrowing rules, which capped personal loans at Dh250,000 (US$68,000). As a result some lenders were burnt when customers became unable to repay debts during the downturn.
Rising numbers of complaints from customers frustrated at how much banks were charging for basic services prompted the regulator to draw up a fresh fee structure.
Banks have been told to adhere to the system from May 1 after the rules were published in the official gazette on March 31. Sultan al Suwaidi, the Central Bank Governor, has warned of fines for those lenders failing to comply with the new regime.
* with additional reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter
tarnold@thenational.ae
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Community Shield info
Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)
Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte
Referee Bobby Madley
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Roma 4
Milner (15' OG), Dzeko (52'), Nainggolan (86', 90 4')
Liverpool 2
Mane (9'), Wijnaldum (25')
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The five pillars of Islam
The biog
Born: High Wycombe, England
Favourite vehicle: One with solid axels
Favourite camping spot: Anywhere I can get to.
Favourite road trip: My first trip to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. The desert they have over there is different and the language made it a bit more challenging.
Favourite spot in the UAE: Al Dhafra. It’s unique, natural, inaccessible, unspoilt.
Match statistics
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 36 Bahrain 32
Harlequins
Tries: Penalty 2, Stevenson, Teasdale, Semple
Cons: Stevenson 2
Pens: Stevenson
Bahrain
Tries: Wallace 2, Heath, Evans, Behan
Cons: Radley 2
Pen: Radley
Man of the match: Craig Nutt (Harlequins)
BRAZIL SQUAD
Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
