Dubai-based mortgage provider Amlak Finance is in talks with a group of lenders to restructure about AED7bn ($1.9bn) of debt.

The firm is understood to be in talks with a group of lenders, including banks and government-owned investment funds on the restructuring.

Amlak has been in limbo since trading in its shares was halted in 2008 and the government mulled a plan to merge the firm with another troubled mortgage provider, Tamweel. The plan was later dropped and Dubai Islamic Bank is in the process of taking over Tamweel, which it already holds a large stake in.

One banker close to the process says that a coordinating committee is in place to represent the lenders, and is being chaired by Emirates NBD. Other banks involved in the restructuring includes the UK’s Standard Chartered, Dubai Islamic Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.

Emaar Properties, which is 31 per cent owned by a Dubai government investment fund, holds 45 per cent of Amlak. The company said in a statement “negotiation between Amlak and its financiers is still in progress through the joint committee created for this purpose”.

Economy Minister Sultan al-Mansouri, who has chaired a government panel working on how to revive Amlak says that he expects the restructuring to be completed by the second quarter of this year.