United Arab Bank (UAB) secured an AED 1 bn two-year loan, split between a conventional tranche and a shariah-compliant commodity murabaha tranche, to tidy up its balance sheet, it said in a press release. The pricing was not disclosed, but the bank said it was secured at “competitive” rates.

Where the funds will go: Drawdowns from the senior unsecured facility will be used to meet the bank’s general corporate needs.

The banks is rated investment grade by Moody’s (Baa2/P-2/Stable) and Fitch (BBB+/F2/Stable), and was separately weighing the sale of around USD 800 mn in non-performing loans back in October in another move towards strengthening its balance sheet.

Advisors: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic Bank, and First Abu Dhabi Bank served as lead arrangers and bookrunners, with Emirates NBD acting as global facility agent.

This is the second debt raise from a UAE bank this week, following Mashreq’sUSD 2 bn syndicated loan, as several UAE lenders step up their balance-sheet management.

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