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UAE issuance expected to remain below 2025's record level due to weaker credit
In 2025, banks across the Gulf region reached record levels, exceeding $60 billion of dollar debt issuance, according to a new report released by Fitch
- PUBLISHED: Sun 17 May 2026, 11:30 AM
Issuing banks in the UAE and the wider Gulf are expected to remain just below record levels due to weaker credit growth and wider credit spreads, as per credit rating agency Fitch.
The UAE’s US dollar debt issuance thus far, from January till April, stood at $6.2 billion, down from $16 billion in 2025. Near-term extension risk is also very low as the UAE’s banking sectors had Tier 1 capital ratios of 15.8 per cent towards the end of 2025.
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In 2025, GCC banks reached record levels, with banks exceeding $60 billion of dollar debt issuance, according to an earlier Fitch report. This was due to heightened maturities, strong credit growth, and favourable financing conditions. The UAE had the second most issuance ($11 billion), preceded by Saudi Arabia ($28.3 billion).
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If the Iran-US war continues, which has halted as both states undergo prolonged ceasefire talks with no final resolution, banks in the Gulf are likely to make greater use of private placements and syndicated loans, according to Fitch.
Bank liquidity conditions could also deteriorate. However, banks’ strong liquidity buffers and capital and liquidity support from the authorities could reduce associated risks to credit profiles, the agency added.
Fitch said it expects private placements to be the main funding channel for GCC banks this year if the conflict persists. If not, banks will likely return to public markets. “We expect UAE banks’ issuance to rise due to elevated maturities of about $4.4 billion,” it said.
Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank by assets, announced in late April the pricing of a $750 million Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital issuance, which Fitch said was a positive signal of investor appetite. The bank was the first bank in the region to announce plans to tap public debt markets since the beginning of the war.
GCC banks’ dollar debt issuance, excluding certificates of deposit (CDs), was about $17.5 billion in 4M26, up by around 20 per cent year on year, or about $27 billion including CDs. This mainly reflects strong issuance in January. Senior notes, mostly from UAE and Qatari banks, were 41 per cent of issuance, followed by 35 per cent from CDs, mainly from Saudi banks, and 24 per cent from AT1 and Tier 2 instruments, also mostly from Saudi Arabia.
Hind Aldah is a business reporter based in Sharjah. In her spare time, you will find her playing classical guitar, painting amateur oil paintings, or crocheting the same old scarf that leads nowhere.