Central Bank of UAE’s December quarter Credit Sentiment Survey shows that there was a downtrend in credit appetite in the UAE. Demand for business credit eased across all emirates in 4Q2015 and banks further tightened their credit standards for the segment. Similarly loan demand for personal loans depicted a slowdown across all emirates during the quarter. Banks however eased credit standards for the individuals segment in 4Q2015 relative to 3Q2015. The December banking statistics corroborates with the results of the survey, as it shows that gross loan growth slowed down to 0.5% Q-o-Q in 4Q2015 versus 2.2% Q-o-Q in 3Q2015. For 1Q2016, survey respondents expect a marginal improvement in credit appetite for business lending but they expect further tightening in credit standards. In the individuals segment, the survey respondent expect modest demand growth and but tightening in credit standards. (Central Bank of UAE)