UAE banks support customers impacted by coronavirus

According to banking industry sources, leading Dubai banks such as Emirates NBD, Dubai Islamic and Mashreq are in the process of finalizing relief measures for their customers.

Central Bank takes the lead

The support measures announced by banks follow a number of fiscal and monetary support schemes announced by the UAE government and Central Bank to support the economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak.

On March 14, the Central Bank announced a Dh100 billion ($27.2 billion) “Targeted Economic Support Scheme” and other measures to reduce the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The central bank’s targeted scheme includes $13.6 billion (Dh50 billion) of funding from which banks can draw collateralized funds at 0 per cent interest rate. An additional Dh50 billion is made available through easing of capital buffers. The scheme reduces domestic systematically important banks’ buffers (D-SIB) as well as banks’ capital conservation buffer (CCB), which will free up an additional Dh50 billion in banks’ lending capacity.

“The support scheme provides funding for banks to grant relief from principal and interest payments for up to six months on loans to all private sector and retail borrowers economically affected by the coronavirus,” an analyst at Moody’s.

ADCB

The ADCB Group on Wednesday initiated a set of comprehensive measures to protect its customers from the economic repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Group said it is introducing a wide range of measures effective the 2nd of April, 2020, that will benefit over 1.2 million retail customers of ADCB and Al Hilal Bank and over 50,000 SME customers of ADCB.

These measures will be in place until the end of June. For all customers, whether an individual or an owner of a business, that are proven to be affected by the COVID19 virus outbreak, loan installments will be deferred and interest will be waived for a period of up to 6 months, subject to appropriate level of scrutiny to be conducted by the bank.

Relief for retail customers include payment deferral of 3 months for retail loans of affected customers with zero charges and interest waived for the deferral period, a payment deferral of 1 month will be available on request for all customers holding Personal Loans, Auto Loans and / or Mortgage Loans with no service charge; An increase in the Loan to Value ratio (LTV) by 5 per cent for first-time home buyers;

Full refund of processing fees for foreign currency credits on cards for due to cancelation of travel plans and reduction of 50 per cent in late payment charges on credit cards.

For SMEs and business loans, the bank has announce a number of measures including interest rate cuts, loan deferrals, rescheduling of loan payments of customers impacted by the virus outbreak.

ADCB sid it will be sympathetic to all large borrowing customers that may be affected by the current situation and would encourage such customers to contact their respective relationship managers to discuss options available.

FAB

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s largest bank is implementing a series of additional financial relief measures to support customers during the current coronavirus outbreak. Initiatives cover; business, individual and Islamic banking customers, and include relief on repayments and fees across a wide range of the bank’s products, effective 1 April 2020.

For individual customers who are directly impacted by the COVID 19 outbreak, FAB will defer payments for mortgages, personal loans and auto loans for between 1 – 3 months. Parents will also receive loans for school fee financing at 0% interest. First-time property buyers using FAB mortgage loans will benefit from a 5 per cent reduction in down payment.

FAB and Dubai First Credit card customers will benefit from a 50 per cent reduction on late payment fees, and from instalment programs without service fees for tuition and utility bill payments. In addition, credit card holders will also be offered a waiver of FX fees on canceled hotel and airline bookings in foreign currencies.

FAB is committed to helping our customers navigate the many different financial challenges being created by the global COVID-19 outbreak. We have taken a series of concrete and practical measures to support our individual, small business and corporate customers over the coming weeks and months as they adjust to the current situation.

- André Sayegh, Group Chief Executive Officer of FAB

All customers can also expect to benefit from relief on account fees. The bank will also continue working via its Employee Banking relationships to support all customers’ needs as required.

For SME customers, FAB will defer up to three months of instalments for all loan types. The bank is already proactively working with all customers to ascertain the COVID-19 impact on their cash flows, to provide further support in loan restructuring or deferment. No loan deferments fees will be charged. FAB is offering SMEs special re-payment restructuring of working capital facilities, to ease current cash flow disruptions and help sustain their business operations.

FAB said the bank will continue to grant loans to all customers based on the existing policies and will support them by offering up to three months of grace period for the first instalment with lower pricing. The bank will also reimburse 50 per cent of the monthly fees on Point of Sale loan (POS) service charges for SME micro and small merchants. Furthermore, fees for loans under the Ghadan 21 initiative have been reduced. FAB is also reducing or suspending a wide range of fees to help businesses manage their accounts.

“FAB is committed to helping our customers navigate the many different financial challenges being created by the global COVID-19 outbreak. We have taken a series of concrete and practical measures to support our individual, small business and corporate customers over the coming weeks and months as they adjust to the current situation,” said André Sayegh, Group Chief Executive Officer of FAB.

ADIB

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) on Saturday announced new measures to reduce the financial burden for individual and corporate customers in response to COVID-19.

For retail customers, ADIB will be postponing the monthly installments of April for its personal finance customers to help them manage their finances during this challenging time. In addition to this, personal finance customers impacted by the Covid-19 may get in touch with the Bank to discuss further support in line with the UAE Central Bank directions. Starting April 1st, customers will also receive up to 5% cash back per month on their grocery expenditure and when paying utility bills using any of the ADIB Cards for a period of 3 months. Cardholders will be able to benefit from instalment plans on all their card expenditures for a period of 6 months without any extra charges.

Parents will also be able to pay school fees while benefiting from 12 months free of charge instalment plans or receive 5% cashback when paying with any of ADIB’s covered cards. In the cases of emergency, ADIB will be offering free temporary limit increases on covered cards and first-time home finance customers will benefit from the 5% reduction in down payment.

ADIB is introducing these measures in alignment with recent UAE government and Central Bank directives to support individuals and businesses impacted by the situation. We recognise that these are uncertain and challenging times, and we want all our customers to be assured that we are here to support.

- Mazin Manna, Group Chief Executive Office at ADIB

For SME and business banking customers, ADIB will be offering a 50% discount on charges related to online remittances and cheque book requests. ADIB is encouraging all its business banking customers to get in touch with their relationship managers to assess the impact of the Covid-19 on their businesses to provide further support in managing their facilities to ease any liquidity disruption and help sustain their business operations.

For large corporates, ADIB is committed to support all its corporate and institutional customers to navigate the many different financial challenges in line with the UAE Central bank directives. Our dedicated team is working in close coordination with customers to discuss any concerns they might have and find optimal and workable solutions for all of those impacted by the COVID-19 situation.

“ADIB is introducing these measures in alignment with recent UAE government and Central Bank directives to support individuals and businesses impacted by the situation. We recognise that these are uncertain and challenging times, and we want all our customers to be assured that we are here to support,” said Mazin Manna, Group Chief Executive Office at ADIB.