Grant Thornton and its Asset Recovery Fund (ARF) announced the purchase of a 1.3 billion dirham ($357 million) portfolio of distressed non-performing loans (NPLs), from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), marking one of the first such portfolio sales from a local bank in the UAE.
Grant Thornton, the UAE’s fifth-largest professional services firm, supported this purchase by deploying its deep-rooted local commercial insights and providing specialist restructuring advice.
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The move indicates how local banks in the UAE are consolidating their books to support the growing market while remaining compliant with international regulatory and banking standards.
Grant Thornton’s experts were critical to the pricing of their portfolio, which is one of the biggest barriers for local UAE banks in exploring alternative markets for NPLs. This sets precedent for new solutions for local banks in the future and positions the UAE as an attractive opportunity for distressed debt international investors.
Hisham Farouk, CEO of Grant Thornton, and Haroon Ahmed, Restructuring Partner, Grant Thornton, both commented that “This transaction opens a new avenue for the UAE Banks to resolve their non-performing loans. We have demonstrated our ability to help lenders drive value from their NPLs, and with our expanding restructuring capabilities in the UAE, will be on hand to support businesses during the challenges ahead.”
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