The vast majority of UAE residents in debt claim to have had threatening calls from the police and banks over their loans, according to a new survey by Arabian Business.
The UAE debt survey 2011 reveals that 80% of residents with debts have had “threatening calls”. The same survey shows that just 9% of residents believe their banks have been helpful in trying to restructure personal debts.
Despite this, the majority – 82% – are confident of clearing their debts before leaving the country. But of those who do not believe they can, 40% plan to skip the country.
The survey also shows that more than a quarter of UAE residents have debts of more than $68,119 (AED250,000) – and than more than 20% of residents have no idea how much debt they are in.
The survey also shows that nearly 40% of residents have personal loans of between $27,247 (AED100,000) and $54495 (AED200,000).
But the scale of UAE debt isn’t just concentrated on personal loans. The results show that 12% of residents in the country own more than six credit cards, with 15% of those still having outstanding balances of more than $27,247. The picture is even worse on car loans, where nearly a quarter of all UAE residents owe more than $27,247.
Last year a report by the Lafferty Group said total consumer debt across the GCC was $139 billion, with the UAE having one of the highest take ups of credit cards anywhere on the planet, with 199.4 cards per 100 people.
*Arabian Business questioned 342 UAE residents for the debt survey.
Click on the links below to see results of the Arabian Business debt survey:
Also read: One in four UAE residents owe banks more than $68,000
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