UAE central bank says banks don't need more support

The United Arab Emirates central bank sees no need for additional support to national banks at present because capitalisation is adequate, Al Ittihad newspaper said on Saturday, citing an official at the bank.                                           
 

Saif Hadef al-Shamsi, senior executive director at the central bank's treasury department, also told the paper that banks have become more conservative in terms of lending despite having enough liquidity.                                           
 

The UAE central bank has repeatedly said that banks, which are heavily exposed to state-owned conglomerate Dubai World, are more sound and liquid than a year ago.                                           
 

Its governor was quoted as saying in a daily paper in April that liquidity and deposit volumes in the system are normal and compatible with the economy and its needs.                                           
However, bankers have said liquidity was still tight in the system as lenders kept chasing deposits for longer-term funding, with offshore credit hard to access.