UAF unveils plan to help SMEs restructure loans & avert total default

To help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are struggling to repay loans, the UAE Banks Federation (UAF) that represents 49 banks in the country has announced a first-of-its-kind initiative, which envisages suspending legal action against those enterprises for up to three months.

Stating that this new plan is like a “mini insolvency law”, UAF Chairman Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair said it is for companies that have borrowed AED 50 million or more from various banks and are unable to service those debts due to financial stress. It will bring together banks and borrowers so that they can restructure those loans and avert incidents of total default.

Meanwhile, the UAF is already lobbying with the UAE government to expedite a new insolvency law that the local business community has been demanding for many years now, Al Ghurair added.