Tamweel begins repossession, says CEO

Dubai-based mortgage lender Tamweel has repossessed some of the defaulted properties in the UAE because the buyers had left the country, its chief executive officer said in an interview.

But the figures so far are in the “low double digits,” Wasim Saifi told The National daily

Dubai Islamic Bank recently increased its stake in Tamweel to 57.33 per cent which would help the company to return to mortgage market much forcefully.

The government had earlier planned to merger Tamweel with its rival Amlak Finance. Their stocks were suspended nearly two years ago.

Saifi told paper that the company has won the right from the Dubai Courts to foreclose on a number of properties of owners who had left the country.

“As you can appreciate, especially with Islamic mortgages, foreclosure is very new but in the last few months we’ve seen a lot of traction. We’re going for foreclosure where we see the customers are not in the country, they’ve left and we have no other option,” he added.

He said company is trying to find solutions with the buyers which are satisfactory to both the parties.
Saifi said while the number of customers defaulting on their mortgage repayments had increased in the past two years, the actual rate of default was “sustainable”.

“We have been quite pleased with the way repayment progress has been happening,” he said.
He said the company will get back to lending soon following approval of regulatory requirements.

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