Banks must decide on Dubai World provisions

Abu Dhabi: The UAE Central Bank has directed local banks dealing with Dubai World to book "appropriate" provisions in consultation with their auditors, bankers said yesterday.

Banks in the UAE had made provisions in the context of Dubai World's restructuring over the last year without any specific guidelines.

The Central Bank released guidelines early last month directing banks to take provisions for bad loans on a quarterly basis, in an effort to bring the banking system in line with international standards.

The latest circular sent to banks in the last week of November comes two months after Dubai World reached an agreement with creditor banks to restructure $25 billion (Dh91.802 billion) in debt.

"The circular effectively means it is now left to individual banks to work out their own size of provisions in consultation with their auditors," an executive of an Abu Dhabi-based bank told Reuters.

According to a report from the local Arabic daily Al Khaleej, the circular also said banks with exposure that did not make provisions in the third quarter would have to do so by the fourth quarter, and that the provisioning could not be delayed and added to year-end profit-and-loss calculations.

Another Dubai-based banker, who confirmed the release of the latest circular, said the onus was now on the banks to determine how much provisions to book based on their exposure.

"Banks are working closely with auditors on the Dubai World provisions, and each bank would do what best suits them."

Central bank officials were not immediately available for comment.