UAE Central Bank says Tess scheme was successful in helping economic recovery

The regulator first rolled out Tess in March to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic

The Central Bank of the UAE praised the UAE leadership for its efforts in aiding the country's economic recovery. Ryan Carter / The National

The Central Bank of the UAE said on Thursday the Targeted Economic Support Scheme aimed at mitigating the impact of Covid-19 on the economy has been successful as a result of the full backing of the country's leadership.

The banking regulator said the leadership's directives during the Covid-19 health crisis "had an incredible impact on the country’s current economic recovery".

The credit for the UAE’s unprecedented success in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis goes to His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu ‎Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, with his wise vision and sound judgment," said Abdulhamid Alahmadi, governor of the Central Bank of the UAE.

"His Highness' moto during the crisis was the Arabic phrase "La Tsheloon Hamm", meaning "Don't Worry", encouraged the country's officials to take bold steps and make quick sharp decisions to contain the crisis."

The central bank rolled out Tess in March as it unveiled a Dh100bn stimulus package to support companies and individuals affected by movement restrictions and other measures taken to stop the spread of the pandemic.

This included Dh50bn of zero-cost collateralised loans and a loosening of banks’ capital requirements, giving them more firepower to lend. Further loosening of capital and liquidity buffers has since increased the size of this stimulus to Dh256bn.

Participating banks were instructed to use the funding to offer temporary relief to the private sector and retail customers for a period of up to six months.

The scheme has benefited more than 320,000 customers, out of which 310,000 were retail customers, 10,000 small and medium enterprises and 1,500 private sector corporates, according to CBUAE’s latest data.

The regulator's board of directors reviewed the scheme earlier this week and said they will reassess it next year.

The council also discussed the need for an "extension of the Tess scheme at that stage if necessary", state news agency Wam reported.