UAE non-performing loans at 15pct: UBS

Banks operating in the United Arab Emirates may have non-performing loans of as much as 15 per cent, compared with less than 4 per cent reported by lenders and the central bank, according to UBS AG. UBS based its estimates on data from HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc.

“HSBC and Standard Chartered data implies NPLs in the 10 per cent to 15 percentage, well above the sub 4 per cent average reported by some banks,” UBS said in an e-mailed note on Monday. The discrepancy could be attributed to “more conservative accounting.”