UAE's big banks renegotiate more than $4bn loans

More than Dhs15bn ($4.08bn) in loans have been renegotiated by the largest three banks in the UAE, raising concern that the balance sheets of local lenders may be weaker than previously believed, The National has reported. National Bank of Abu Dhabi renegotiated Dhs3.2bn of loans last year, First Gulf Bank (FGB) has renegotiated loans at Dhs2.5bn. Emirates NBD has said it doubled the value of its renegotiated corporate loans to Dhs7.8bn from 2008 to last year, bringing its overall renegotiated loans to about Dhs10bn. Analysts said some banks now are at risk of not being repaid on borrowing that would be better classified as non-performing. "These loans are still stressed, even if the customer is servicing them right now. They could come back and bite you. They are weakened loans," Deepak Tolani, an analyst at Al Mal Capital in Dubai said.