meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

UAE banks dig in for new era

11 April 2025

 

Gulf decision makers, like their counterparts elsewhere in the world, are gauging the potential impact of the world’s new tariff regime.

Amid the global economic turmoil emanating from Washington DC, UAE banks have reason to be confident about their prospects of withstanding the negative effects, after a strong 2024 that saw double-digit credit growth and solid profits across the board.

Full-year loan growth stood at 11% in 2024, notes ratings agency Fitch Ratings, while UAE banks’ profits reached a record-high level, with a 19.1% return on average equity.

Surprising success

Loan growth surprised on the upside, reflecting stronger activity from government-related entities (GREs), which has provided good business for Emirati banks. For example, majority government-owned Emirates NBD had almost one-quarter of its loan book exposed to the Dubai government and its GREs. 

The broader outlook is positive for UAE banks in 2025. Amid healthy operating conditions and robust liquidity, lending growth should remain close to double figures this year.

The combined net income of Fitch-rated banks was AED80bn ($19.8bn) in 2024, up from AED76bn ($18.8bn) in 2023. This rise was driven by a 10% expansion of the banks’ pre-impairment operating profit, contained loan impairment charges – due to the favourable operating environment – and strong coverage of already crystallised problem loans at most banks, said Fitch Ratings.

The UAE’s largest bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), reported a 13% year-on-year increase in pre-tax profits to AED19bn ($4.7bn), supported by revenue growth of 15%. 

“UAE banks are at the top of the cycle,” says Anton Lopatin, UAE bank analyst at Fitch Ratings. “At Fitch, we’ve upgraded a lot of standalone ratings for banks in the last 24 months. Together with other factors that reflected that in the last two years we have seen some the highest profits ever in the UAE, because of the strong liquidity and the healthy economic environment.”

Although profitability is expected to decrease marginally in 2025, UAE banks will continue to benefit from solid internal capital generation and high shareholder support, according to S&P Global, another ratings agency.

Taxes, rates and regulations

UAE banks, like other companies active in the country, have also had to cope with the introduction of corporate tax, imposed in mid-2003 at an average 9% rate. Even so, UAE banks realised a high return on equity in 2024, despite it being the first full year in which banks paid corporate tax. 

UAE banks have benefited from the higher-for-longer interest rates, an avenue of earnings that is gradually closing off in light of the US Federal Reserve’s protracted series of rate cuts. Nonetheless, analysts see the impact remaining supportive through 2025.

“The market consensus is that in 2025, there will be a maximum of two cuts in interest rates. That would mean banks would likely report another return on average equity close to 20% again, in line with what we saw last year,” says Lopatin.

Another source of support is the new credit risk management standards introduced by the UAE Central Bank in November, which are likely to strengthen banks’ long-term creditworthiness.

“From a ratings agency perspective, this is positive, as … target banks have to become more prudent in terms of how they classify loans, and how they book provisions against new impairment cases. This means they should be more conservative than they used to be,” says Lopatin.

The standards are aimed at improving the transparency of the banks’ asset quality and ensure stronger provision coverage for problem loans. Consequently, capital and profitability metrics should face less pressure in times of stress, notes Fitch.

“The Central Bank of the UAE targets the sector average impaired loan ratio to be less than 5% in the long-term. The current average is 4%, but we are in the positive part of the cycle,” says Lopatin.

Some banks may report higher Stage 2 or Stage 3 loans ratios due to the new standards, but Fitch maintains its forecast sector-average impaired loans ratio at 4% for 2025 because the impact on most large and medium-sized banks is likely to be limited, and robust growth should continue to dilute increases in Stage 3 loan ratios.

Pressure has been exerted on banks to offload some of their bad loans, most notably in Abu Dhabi.

The process got rolling in 2023, when Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) offloaded a $1.1bn loan portfolio to US investment fund Davidson Kempner, as part of a move to rid its balance sheet of corporate defaults. The lender is now looking to package off more non-performing loans by the end of 2025 and is reported to be in the early stages of studying such a deal.

In January, FAB also announced its intention to offload some impaired loans and is reportedly looking to sell its portfolio of non-performing loans worth about $800m to Deutsche Bank. This process mirrors what is happening in Saudi Arabia, where the authorities want banks to securitise some of the impaired loans.

Opportunities abroad

While the domestic economic upturn and the servicing of GREs’ credit needs will underpin future Emirati bank growth, lenders also continue to look out for new opportunities beyond the GCC home market.

Turkiye is one of the more promising prospects for UAE banks to grow their footprints. Although an attempt last year by FAB to acquire a stake in the country’s fourth-largest private bank, Yapi Kredi, did not go through, in January Dubai Islamic Bank announced an increase in its shareholding in Turkish financial services provider TOM Group from 20% to 25%.

Meanwhile, Emirates NBD and FAB acted as coordinators and bookrunners on a $1.2bn loan for Turkiye Wealth Fund in March of this year. The sovereign fund raised a two-year syndicated loan from 20 banks.

Overseas expansion, mixed with continued domestic credit growth opportunities, should help UAE lenders maintain their recent performances – whatever global headwinds result from US President Donald Trump’s new era of trade barriers.

MEED’s May 2025 report on the UAE includes:

> GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY: UAE looks to economic longevity
> BANKING: UAE banks dig in for new era
> UPSTREAM: Adnoc in cruise control with oil and gas targets
> DOWNSTREAM: Abu Dhabi chemicals sector sees relentless growth
> POWER: AI accelerates UAE power generation projects sector
> CONSTRUCTION: Dubai construction continues to lead region
> TRANSPORT: UAE accelerates its $60bn transport push
 

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13640614/main.jpg
James Gavin

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Contractors compete for Riyadh airport Terminal 6 work

    2 November 2026

     

    Contractors are preparing bids for the main construction contract for Terminal 6 at King Salman International airport (KSIA) in Riyadh.

    MEED understands that the consortiums have been given until January to submit their proposals.

    The participating consortiums are:

    • Al-Gihaz Holding / TAV Construction / Webuild (local/Turkiye/Italy)
    • Modern Building Leaders / Powerchina / Metallurgical Corporation of China (loca/China/China)
    • UCC Holding / Consolidated Contractors Company (Qatar/Greece)

    Last month, MEED exclusively reported that contractor teams have completed the early contractor involvement phase of the project.

    Under the completed phase, the shortlisted teams submitted detailed construction methodologies and technical design proposals.

    King Salman International Airport Development Company (KSIADC) is a subsidiary of Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund.

    Terminal 6 is planned to boost the airport’s annual capacity by 40 million passengers. KSIADC aims to complete the terminal ahead of Expo 2030 Riyadh.

    In May 2025, MEED reported that US-based Bechtel had been appointed as delivery partner for the passenger terminals at KSIA.

    UK-based Foster + Partners designed the masterplan, including the terminals, six parallel runways and a multi-asset real estate district.

    US-based engineering firm Jacobs is providing specialist consultancy services for the masterplan and runway design, while UK-headquartered Mace is acting as delivery partner for the broader development. Local firm Nera secured the airspace design consultancy contract.

    The KSIA project covers about 57 square kilometres (sq km) and incorporates the existing terminals at King Khalid International airport. The scheme will feature 12 sq km of airport support facilities, residential and recreational zones, retail assets and logistics parks.

    The development is targeted to handle up to 120 million passengers a year by 2030 and 185 million passengers by 2050, in addition to an annual cargo throughput of 3.5 million tonnes by 2050.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21087339/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Contractors prepare bids for Morocco power line

    2 November 2026

     

    Contractors are preparing bids for a 160-kilometre (km), 400kV transmission line linking Guercif and Fes East in Morocco, following a site visit on 1 October.

    The project is being developed by the Office National de l'Electricite et de l'Eau Potable (Onee) to connect the Saka solar photovoltaic power plant to the national electricity grid.

    According to sources, at least eight contractors attended the site visit last month, including:

    • Butec (Lebanon)
    • CEEC Northeast Electric No.2 (China)
    • Cegelec (France)
    • EPME Electric (Morocco)
    • Hideleco (Egypt)
    • Kec International (India)
    • PowerChina (China)
    • Transrail (India)

    The project comprises two lots. The first involves a 90km transmission line between Guercif and Taza, while the second covers a 70km section between Taza and Fes East.

    The scope of work includes the construction of tower foundations, installation of transmission supports and conductors, and associated high-voltage equipment. It also includes optical fibre cables for communications and monitoring, access roads and other supporting infrastructure.

    The tender was issued in September with bids originally due by 21 October. The deadline has now been extended to 25 November.

    The project is part of a wider programme by Onee to expand Morocco's electricity transmission network and accommodate additional renewable energy capacity.

    In June, the utility commissioned a 274km, 400kV transmission line linking Chemaia and Mediouna, near Casablanca.

    Onee plans to expand its high- and extra-high-voltage transmission network from more than 30,700km to 37,000km by 2030.

    In August, it approved a $26.4bn investment programme for the 2026-30 period, covering electricity and drinking water infrastructure.

    The programme has allocated about $21.9bn to electricity projects and $4.5bn to drinking water infrastructure, with about 72% of the investment to be financed by the private sector, according to Onee.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21083507/main1257.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Adnoc Onshore allows more time for Bab gas cap well tie-in bids

    2 November 2026

     

    The onshore business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Onshore) has allowed contractors more time to prepare proposals for a project to tie in gas-producing and injection wells at the gas cap reservoirs of Abu Dhabi’s onshore Bab field.

    The well tie-in scope, estimated to be worth more than $800m, forms part of Adnoc Group’s wider integrated Bab gas cap development programme.

    The overall programme is being led and overseen by Adnoc Gas, another Adnoc Group subsidiary. Its central element is the construction of gas-processing infrastructure to handle incremental gas output expected from developing the Bab gas caps.

    Adnoc Onshore issued the main tender for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the project in late September, MEED previously reported.

    Contractors have been given until 16 November to submit technical bids for the project, according to sources. The previous deadline was 29 October.

    MEED previously reported that Adnoc Onshore issued an expressions of interest (EoI) notice for the Bab gas production and injector well tie-in project on 13 May, with contractors submitting responses by 20 May.

    The scope of work on the project covers the following:

    • Tie-in of 99 new wells from Bab gas cap reservoirs KH-2, SH-1 and LK-1 (60 gas producers and 39 gas injectors);
    • Installation of well gathering structures: 10 gas pads, six well bays and three virtual pads;
    • Installation of a gas gathering network and a gas injection network;
    • Rerouting of the LK-3 production from the existing trunkline in Remote Manifold Station 3 (RMS-3) to the project’s production trunkline, Bab Gas TL-2;
    • Demolition of the existing 10-inch trunkline from RMS-3 to onshore gas development phase one.

    In the EoI document, Adnoc Onshore said it intends to award the EPC contract in the last quarter of the year, with a 45-month duration of works.

    Bab gas cap project infrastructure

    As part of its 2030 upstream production increase goals, Adnoc Group is working to extract gas from four underdeveloped gas cap reservoirs at the Bab onshore field development – Thammama A, Thammama B, Thammama F and Thammama H.

    While the Thammama A, B and H reservoirs are estimated to collectively produce 1.45 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) of gas, output from the Thammama F gas cap is expected to be at a rate of 396 million cf/d.

    Existing trains at the Habshan processing complex in Abu Dhabi will be unable to handle the new gas volumes. Therefore, Adnoc Gas is required to build new facilities to process an additional volume of up to 1.85 billion cf/d of raw gas.

    Adnoc Gas is planning to build a gas processing plant in the Bab area, about 170 kilometres from Abu Dhabi, along with associated pipeline networks and other ancillary units, as part of the broader Bab gas cap development project. It has divided the EPC scope of work on the project into four packages:

    • EPC package 1 – Main Bab gas cap plant
    • EPC package 2 – Early civil works
    • EPC package 3 – Pipelines
    • EPC package 4 – Non-process area works

    Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed Adnoc Gas issued the tender for the main Bab gas cap plant on 25 June and set an initial deadline of 17 July for contractors to submit technical bids. The company then extended the technical bid submission deadline by four months, until 16 November, MEED previously reported.

    Following a reshuffle of the consortiums gearing up to bid for the main Bab gas plant EPC package, estimated to be worth more than $6bn, the following teams have formed to compete in the main contract tendering round:

    • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India) + Petrofac Emirates (UAE)
    • Technip Energies (France) + JGC Corporation (Japan) + Sinopec (China)
    • Tecnimont (Italy) + China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC)

    The other three packages of the Bab gas cap project are also in the main contract tendering stages.

    Prior to issuing the EoIs for the project packages, Adnoc Gas completed an early engagement process with contractors in September and October last year, as MEED previously reported.

    In December last year, Adnoc Gas awarded the front-end engineering and design (feed) works for the development project  to Australia-based consultancy Worley. The feed contract has a duration of more than 1.2 million man-hours, making it the largest-ever engineering job awarded by Adnoc Gas.

    Bab Gas Cap concession

    In addition to Adnoc Gas overseeing the main EPC tendering exercise for the gas processing plant, Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs (SCFEA) awarded concession agreements in June for the development and production of the Bab gas cap reserve.

    Adnoc will hold the majority 60% participating interest in the concession. The remaining stakes will be held by France’s TotalEnergies (10%), the UK’s BP (10%), China National Petroleum Corporation International (8%), Japan Oil Development Company Onshore (5%), China ZhenHua Oil (4%) and Korea GS E&P (3%).

    According to the SCFEA, the Bab gas cap development and production concession represents the largest gas cap development project of its kind globally, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a report.

    A gas cap refers to the free natural gas that sits above an underlying oil reservoir – in this case, the Bab onshore oil field in Abu Dhabi.

    The project, operated by Adnoc Onshore, is expected to have a production capacity of approximately 1.5 billion cf/d of natural gas, equivalent to about 15% of Adnoc Gas’ total operational gas processing capacity.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21083343/main.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Gulf ministers insist Hormuz is still essential

    2 November 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Senior Gulf officials have rejected suggestions that new pipelines and rail links will allow the region to do without the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that the waterway will remain essential to the GCC and the global economy.

    Speaking at the Gateway Gulf investment forum in Manama on 1 November, GCC secretary-general Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said keeping the strait open is the responsibility of the international community, not of any one country or group of partners. "We hear some voices that maybe we should seek alternatives to Hormuz," he said. "Fine, we will get the pipelines. We will get the GCC railway. But that doesn't mean Hormuz is nobody's business."

    Albudaiwi called for the strait to remain open in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

    Shipping through the strait has been severely restricted since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February and Iran retaliated with attacks on GCC states and commercial vessels.

    Bahrain's Finance & National Economy Minister, Sheikh Salman Bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, said building redundancy makes sense, but treating the strait as dispensable does not. He said the waterway carries 30% of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, 20% of aluminium exports and 30% of fertiliser exports. "Any thinking about the alternative of Hormuz, as in we won't need it, is illogical, because we will need it for the world economy," he said.

    UAE Economy & Tourism Minister Abdulla Bin Touq Al-Marri said that "Hormuz matters, and Hormuz will keep mattering", adding that an economy dependent on a single trade route is exposed if that route closes.

    Sheikh Salman said the crisis has compressed years of GCC customs negotiations into weeks. During the conflict, containers cleared at Jeddah with final destinations in Bahrain or Kuwait moved on without further checks, and the same applied to cargo routed through Salalah and Fujairah, he said. GCC ministers have since agreed to make these emergency measures permanent.

    He also cited Gulf Air operating out of Saudi airports for more than 40 days without a written agreement, and a $5bn swap between the UAE and Bahraini central banks to stabilise currencies.

    Bin Touq said the bloc should use 2027 and 2028 to push through reforms, including removing remaining customs barriers between member states.

    Albudaiwi said GCC leaders meeting in Jeddah on 28 April had tasked the secretariat with advancing water connectivity, expanding the GCC electricity grid, planning new logistics infrastructure including ports, accelerating the GCC railway and enhancing oil and gas pipeline links.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21080732/main4958.jpg
    Colin Foreman
  • Bahrain’s Gateway Gulf brings $20bn of deals

    2 November 2026

    More than 110 announcements worth over $20bn will be made at the Gateway Gulf Investment Forum in Bahrain, according to the country's finance minister.

    "Over the next two days at Gateway Gulf, more than 110 announcements worth over $20bn will be made," Sheikh Salman Bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Finance & National Economy Minister, said at the opening of the forum's fourth edition on 1 November in Bahrain.

    He said the announcements will cover new partnerships, investments, projects and jobs. Sheikh Salman addressed an audience that included Bahrain's Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.

    The minister said the region's economies have been "tested as never before" since the previous edition of the forum a year earlier.

    "In the face of unprecedented attacks, we did not waver," he said. He added that Bahrain has chosen to work more closely with its allies and partners to defend what it has built.

    Sheikh Salman said the Gulf economy has grown to $2.4tn in GDP. Non-oil sectors account for more than 86% of Bahrain's GDP and more than 77% across the Gulf, he said.

    He said Gulf banks hold more than $4tn in assets, while the region's sovereign wealth funds manage more than $5tn of investments. "These numbers describe a region that has chosen to build a more stable, a more prosperous future for its people," he said. "Bahrain is the gateway to that region."

    The minister said Bahrain is focusing on regulation, infrastructure and people to attract investment.

    He said the country has developed a regulatory framework over several decades that is "clear, modern and fast", allowing investors to commit with confidence.

    On infrastructure, he highlighted logistics, connectivity, digital networks and industrial land as areas where Bahrain is building the foundations for businesses to expand. He also named finance, logistics, tourism, manufacturing, technology and telecommunications, and oil and gas as the sectors into which he expects domestic, regional and international capital to flow.

    He said the investments will create jobs for young graduates and support the growth of family businesses.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21080593/main2015.jpg
    Colin Foreman