Suvo Sarkar, general manager for consumer and elite banking at National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the largest UAE bank by market value, said banks were lending again, but more conservatively than previous years.
“2009 was probably was the lowest in terms of numbers, up to mid-2010. From the second half of 2010, we’ve seen a 15-20 percent pickup from those numbers,” Sarkar said on the sidelines of a retail banking conference in Dubai.
“We see that continuing for sure. From our perspective, the contribution of retail to the entire bottom line is going to go up and up steadily in the next five years.”
Sarkar said he expected provisions to be lower in 2011 for retail banking units.
“For the entire unsecured lending sector, I think loss rates this year will be 40-50 percent lower than last year. Lower loss rates will give banks confidence to lend more as well,” he said.
In February, the UAE central bank said it had introduced new rules to limit loans to individuals and curb bank fees.
