If you’ve been struggling with loan repayments in the UAE, you’re far from alone. Almost 150,000 individual banking customers have received payment deferrals worth AED2.3bn ($626m) from the Central Bank of the UAE, giving households across the country some much-needed breathing room.
The numbers come from the Central Bank of the UAE’s (CBUAE) Financial Institutions Resilience Package, a support scheme first launched in March 2026 to help residents and businesses manage their finances during tougher economic periods. By the end of August 2026, a total of 155,971 banking customers had benefited from the package in one form or another.
Who actually got the help in the UAE banking sector?
Individual customers made up the bulk of the beneficiaries. Exactly 148,681 people across the UAE received loan repayment deferrals under the scheme, totalling AED2.3bn. That means their monthly bank obligations were pushed back, giving them more time to get back on their feet without falling into default.
Small and medium-sized enterprises benefited too. According to the CBUAE, 6,441 SMEs received AED2.9bn in loan repayment deferrals through the same package. For small business owners in the UAE, that kind of flexibility can be the difference between staying afloat and shutting down, especially when cash flow gets tight.
Put together, the wider Financial Institutions Resilience Package covered loans worth AED15.9bn ($4.33bn) in total support, which included not just deferrals but also waived commissions and fees. That’s a significant chunk of relief flowing through the UAE’s banking system to people and companies who needed it.
These figures were shared during a meeting between CBUAE Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama and the chief executives of banks operating in the UAE. The gathering also gave bank bosses and the regulator a chance to review how the wider banking sector is performing right now.
What this means for your money and the wider economy
The timing matters here. While thousands of customers were getting relief on their loans, the UAE banking sector as a whole was actually growing at a healthy pace. Total bank loans rose by 18.8 per cent year on year by the end of August 2026, a sign that credit is flowing and businesses and individuals are continuing to borrow with confidence.
Banking assets climbed 12.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2025, and deposits were up 13 per cent too. That growth in deposits often points to people and companies in the UAE having more trust in local banks and choosing to park their money there.
Perhaps the most reassuring number for anyone watching the health of the UAE’s financial system is the drop in bad loans. The non-performing loans ratio fell to 2.6 per cent, while the net non-performing loans ratio improved to 1.2 per cent. In simple terms, fewer borrowers are falling behind on repayments, which is a good sign for the overall stability of the sector.
Governor Balama said this performance reflects the strength and resilience of the UAE’s financial system, along with the effectiveness of its supervisory and regulatory frameworks. He also pushed banks to speed up their digital transformation efforts, strengthen consumer protection, improve financial inclusion, and keep high standards around governance, risk management and compliance.
For everyday residents and business owners across the UAE and wider GCC, this story carries a clear message: support schemes like the Financial Institutions Resilience Package exist precisely for moments when repayments become difficult, and a large number of people have already made use of them. If you’re a customer with a bank operating in the UAE and you’re finding loan repayments tough, it’s worth checking with your bank directly about what relief options might still be available to you. You can keep track of more developments like this through TAI News business coverage, which follows banking, finance and economic trends across the UAE and GCC region.
Going forward, keep an eye on how the CBUAE continues to balance support measures with the broader push for growth. With loans, assets and deposits all climbing while bad debt shrinks, the UAE banking sector appears to be expanding safely rather than taking on risky levels of debt. This story was first reported by Arabian Business, and future updates on the scheme’s reach are likely as the CBUAE continues reviewing sector performance with UAE bank leaders.
