4 banks sign deal with debt fund for Emiratis

Joining an initiative launched by the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to settle the debts owed by UAE citizens, four more banks operating in the country signed on Saturday agreements with the Debt Settlement Fund for UAE Nationals.

The agreements endorse mechanisms for settling defaulted loans owed by nationals against whom courts of law have passed judgments or cases are pending.

Representing the Nationals' Defaulted Debts Settlement Fund, the Under Secretary of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs and Deputy Chairman of the Higher Committee of the Fund, Mohammed Abdullah Al Rumaithi signed the agreements with senior officials of the banks.

Officials from UAE Central Bank and under secretaries of various ministries were present at the signing ceremony.

The new four banks that signed agreements on Saturday included Sharjah Islamic Bank, Noor Islamic Bank, HSBC and Arab Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade.

This brings the total number of banks which joined the initiative to 17, including both local and foreign.

Rumaithi said that the Presidential decree granting citizens protection from criminal proceedings stipulated by the penal code for issuing security cheques to the lending banks has contributed to settling several debts quickly.

He thanked the banking sector for their cooperation in reaching agreements to settle a large number of defaulted loans through a mechanism that combined partial write-offs with payments by the fund.
 

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