The Central Bank of the UAE has asked the banks and financial institutions to find a solution to the issue of settlement of the loans defaulted by the UAE nationals. Governor of Central Bank Sultan bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, speaking to the bankers and top officials at a seminar encouraged them to implement the directives of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, through finding appropriate solutions to address the issue of loan defaults. He was speaking at a seminar organised by the Central Bank of the UAE which discussed at length the issue of loan defaulted by Emiratis in an effort to finding a workable solution. Al Suwaidi lauded Abu Dhabi's First Gulf Bank for giving attention to the issue by giving up a lot of its rights in order to making the initiative a success. The governor also appreciated Standard Chartered Bank for generously waiving off debts of 31 UAE nationals by dropping legal cases without reclaiming from the Dh10 billion fund. The seminar attended by top government officials dealing with the defaults issue, discussed different its aspects including the value of the personal loans, interest rate, repayment of installments and personal loans provided by Islamic banks, in addition to problems and proposed solutions. The seminar discussed the reasons that led to the default of Emirati borrowers. In January, the Nationals' Defaulted Debts Settlement Fund was setup by Shaikh Khalifa to provide financial assistance to loan defaulters with limited incomes. Initiative would benefit 6,800 UAE nationals, who defaulted on the personal loans of less than Dh1 million, be they in detention, pending trial or convicted, or settling their debts through instalment schedules set by the courts of law. The governor appreciated those managing the Nationals' Defaulted Debts Settlement Fund chaired by Ahmed Juma Al Zaabi, Deputy Minister for Presidential Affairs, his deputy Mohammed Abdulla Sultan Al Rumaithi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs for Finance and Purchasing Division and others to the implementation of the initiative. Khaleej Times
