The rate of bank lending growth in the United Arab Emirates is "reasonable," Central Bank Governor Sultan Nasser Al-Suweidi said Friday. "Bank lending is going at a reasonable rate. The rate has been close to 3.5 percent, which is reasonable under the circumstances," he told reporters on the sidelines of a financial conference. He described the central bank's monetary policy as "good", when asked the possibility of shifts in monetary policy, without elaborating. The 2008 global financial crisis exposed bank lending excesses in the UAE economy, bursting a property bubble and triggering a $25 billion debt restructuring of Dubai World in 2010. However, most UAE banks have large capital cushions by international standards and they have been relatively unscathed by the euro zone debt crisis because they have only minor exposure to Europe. Despite some recovery, bank lending remains sluggish in the UAE. Provisions against bad loans rose to a record AED55.3 billion ($15.1 billion) in December, up 25 percent from a year ago, central bank data show. Moreover, all banking executives sitting on the boards of directors of the UAE's top banks are to face more scrutiny and will undergo a 'fitness test' to assess their expertise, the UAE central bank governor said Tuesday. Under new rules, all commercial banks must seek the central bank's approval when nominating members to boards of directors to ensure their independence, to avoid any potential conflict of interests among members and to prevent individual directors dominating proceedings.
