compareit4me

Home loans get cheaper

Product Editor — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 12:11:19 +0000

Buying homes in UAE may just have gotten more easier.

Major banks in the emirates are competing to lure residents with rates as low as 4.99 per cent on mortgages and a high loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of up to 85 per cent.

The Sharjah headquartered United Arab Bank (UAB) recently offered the lowest finance rate in the UAE. The announcement came as demand for home financing has started to gain ground after more than two years.

UAB will start by offering an interest rate of 4.99 percent. Mortgages will be available to salaried and self employed UAE nationals as well as expatriates with conventional and Islamic financing options.

Since early this year several top banks have cut interest rates in a bid to outdo each other in the real estate mortgage loans.

Previously HSBC announced a revised mortgage lending rate of 5.49 per cent for UAE buyers looking to buy completed residential property. Similarly Standard Chartered has plans to bundle UAE mortgages with pre-approved personal loans of up to Dh250,000 and credit cards with no annual fees.

The Islamic lender Tamweel too came out with its aggressive offering rates of 4.99 per cent. Prior to that Abu Dhabi Finance, with its interest rate of 5.75 per cent, claimed to be offering the lowest rate among home finance lenders.

Story by: Newzglobe.com

Standard Chartered Launches New Credit Card Promotion

Product Editor — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 11:13:22 +0000

Standard Chartered Bank, announced its latest credit card promotion which allows new customers to receive an iPad2 16 GB, as a welcome gift. New credit card customers just have to confirm a minimum spend of certain amount on the card for a year, to receive the iPad2 (16 GB) upfront. The campaign is a limited period offer and is open for new Platinum and Titanium Credit Card applications only.

With the Standard Chartered Platinum or Titanium Credit Card, cardholders earn the Bank’s 360° Reward Points faster.

Cardholders can redeem their points, for flights on over 300 airlines to any destination. Customers can also redeem their points against Asia Miles and KrisFlyer Miles or redeem the points against cash back or reward vouchers for supermarkets, restaurants, jewellery shops or lifestyle and apparel shops.

Standard Chartered Platinum and Titanium Credit Cardholders also enjoy over 350 exciting offers across member establishments in the UAE and worldwide.

Commenting on the promotion, Syed Hammad Haider, General Manager, Retail Products and New Business, Standard Chartered UAE said:

“The UAE is one of Standard Chartered’s key markets globally and we are keen to continuously develop our business in this country. We firmly believe in providing our customers with financial services and products that match their increasing needs and expectations. We have succeeded in sustaining our growth in the UAE through our continued continuously delivering exceptional service and offering value added benefits to our customers.”

Getting credit in Dubai

Product Editor — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:09:53 +0000

In recent years, the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai has emerged as a truly global city. Attracting thousands of migrant workers and international holiday makers every year, Dubai really is a boom town. For many of the visitors, the impact and impression that Dubai leaves them with is powerful enough for them to want to make their home there or buy a second holiday home there. With more and more interest in buying in Dubai there is a very real need to obtain credit when making large purchases such as cars and houses.
Once upon a time, it was almost impossible for any foreign national to obtain credit in Dubai as the old banking and property laws made it difficult for most people to borrow money. However as Dubai has been more and more interested in establishing itself as a serious player in the global markets, these rules have been relaxed.
The process of obtaining credit in Dubai can be a new and often frightening experience for many foreign visitors and expatriates depending on which banking institute they use. While global banking institutes do operate within Dubai, there are also a number of Islamic banks that also offer credit but run slightly differently from non-Islamic banks.
The United Arab Emirates is a Muslim country and as such is governed by Sharia (Islamic law). While Islamic banking has the same principals as many commercial banks which is to make money from banking, as Islam prevents banks from charging interest a set of complicated Islamic banking laws have been set up to allow the banks to make money without breaking Sharia.
If you were to take out finance on a new car in the United Arab Emirates, the dealership would contact the bank to arrange finance and rather than the bank loaning you the money to buy the car creating a situation where you pay off the value plus interest over time, in Islamic banking the bank buys the car on your behalf and then sells you the car at an above market value. You then make monthly payments back on the car which don’t include interest.

In order to prevent buyers from defaulting on any credit loans from an Islamic bank, many require collateral beyond the goods that the loan has been taken out to purchase. If you were purchasing a holiday home in Dubai, the bank might require to also offer your own family home as collateral.

Credit Cards Dubai

Product Editor — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 05:02:23 +0000

Dubai Credit Cards

In Dubai, there are lots of bank with different types of credit cards. You can check online about these credit cards and choose the best one according to your needs. You can search card by category, type and select for you. You can apply for anyone of the credit cards online. Here are some credit cards offered by the banks of Dubai:

Abu Dhabi Islamic bank:
• VISA credit card. Co-Branded credit card. No annual fee, low opening rate, reward card, airlines card, cash back.

Al Hilal Bank:
• VISA credit card. No annual fee and low opening rate.
• Gold Credit Card. It is also VISA card with no annual fee and low intro rate.

Arab Bank:
• Internet shopping card. VISA card. No annual fee.
• VISA platinum credit card. No annual fee.
• VISA Electron Card. No annual fee.
• VISA classic card. Low opening rate. Annual fee of AED 150, student and airlines card.
• VUSA Gold. Low opening rate. Annual fee of AED 300, airlines and student card.

Barclays:
• Barclay Premier League Card. Master card. No annual fee.
• Classic preferred bundle. VISA card. No annual fee, low opening rate, reward card.
• Classic priority bundle. VISA card. Reward and airlines card. Low opening rate, annual fee of AED 300.
• Elegant Bundle Gold. VISA card. Low intro rates, no annual fee, reward, business, student and airlines card.
• Elite Bundle Gold. VISA card. Low opening rate, annual fee of AED 150, business, airlines and reward card.
• Elite Bundle Platinum. VISA card. Low opening rate, annual fee of AED 550, platinum, business, airlines, reward card.
• Esteem Bundle Platinum. VISA card. Low opening rate, annual fee of AED 950. Platinum, airlines, business, reward card.
• Gold preferred Bundle. VISA card. Low opening rate. no annual fee, reward card.
• Gold priority bundle. VISA card. Low opening rate, annual fee of AED 300, airlines and reward card.
• Platinum personal prestige bundle. VISA card. Annual fee of AED 500, low opening rate, airline and reward card.
• Platinum card. VISA card. No annual fee, low intro rates, airlines and reward card.

Citi Bank:
• Citi Life Titanium. Master card. No annual fee.
• Citi Life Platinum. Master card. No annual fee.
• Citi Life Infinite. VISA card. No annual fee.
• Citi Premier Miles. Master card. No annual fee.
• Citi premier Miles Elite. Master card. No annual fee.
• Citi Life Silver. Master card. No annual fee.
• Emirates Citibank Gold Card. Master card. No annual rate and fee. Airlines card.
• Citi Travel pass Card. VISA card. Low opening rate, annual fee of 400 Dhs. Airlines card.
• Citibank Gold card. VISA card. Low opening rate, annual fee of AED 300, reward card.
• Citibank Silver Card. Master card. Low opening rate. Annual fee of AED 150. Reward card.
• Citibank Ultimate Card. VISA card. Low intro rate, annual fee of AED 600. Airlines card.
• Emirate Citibank Ultimate Card. VISA card. Annual fee of AED 800. Platinum and reward card.

Dubai Bank:
• VISA Covered Card. VISA card. Low opening rate, no annual fee and rate, business, airline and reward card.

Dubai Islamic bank:
• Al-Islami Infinite Credit Card. VISA card, no annual fee, platinum, business and reward card.
• Classic Al-Islami Charge Card. VISA cad. Annual fee of AED 200, airlines card.
• Classic personal Credit Card. VISA cad. Monthly fee of AED 75. Airlines card.

There are also other credit cards such as Gold premium Personal Card, Platinum Al-Islami Charge Card, VIP Platinum Al-Islami Charge card. Most of the credit cards of this bank are VISA card with some annual fees.

So, as you can see there are various types and categories of credit card in Dubai. Lots of banks provide these credit cards with lots of facilities. Some charges annual fees and some do not. You must choose your own credit card comparing all these.

Loans in Dubai

Product Editor — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 05:00:48 +0000

Dubai Loans

There are different types of bank loans in Dubai. These loans can be classified into personal loan, home loan, business loan, car loan, salary transfer loan, loan against properties. All of these loans are described here:

Personal Loan:

Various banks and financial companies offer personal loans. Employees and businessmen are offered this loan. This loan is small in amount ranging from 20000 to 200000 AED. Retail department of bank offers this loan with 4-10 working days turn around time. Tenor of this loan is 12-48 months. Annual interest rate is around 25%. You need to provide 12 month statement of your personal bank account and history of clear repayment of previous loans or credit cards.

Home Loan:

Several banks and institutions of housing finance offer this mortgage loan in Dubai. But, the loan is offered on a selective basis. The loan is offered on residential apartments which are fully completed. You are eligible if you have cash flow of your business. You can get loan of 5-8 times of your gross salary in a year. If you have other installments to pay then you will get lesser amount. Projects for which most banks finance are Lakes, Springs, Greens, Emirate Hills, Meadows, Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Executive Towers. The loan amount for home is 70%- 80% of your property. Turnaround time is 2-3 weeks. Evaluation of property is done by reputed valuers like Better Homes, J&J, Colliers and Cluttons. Tenor of this loan is 10-20 years. Annual interest rate is 6.5%-8.5%. You need to provide your salary bank account’s 6 months statement, employer’s salary certificate, loans or credit cards detail, property details and history of clear payment of previous loans.

Business loan:

Many banks in Dubai offer business loans for SME customers and business banking. This loan ranges from 150000 to 750000 AED. Department of business banking offer this loan. The loan can be distributed within a turnaround time of 7-15 working days. Tenor of this loan is 12-48 months. Annual interest rate is 18-24%. You need to provide statement of your personal account or business account. You should have business of minimum 2 years, clear payment of previous loans. Your yearly business turnover should be 3 million minimum. You should also provide company financials. According to your company financials and credentials you can have better interest and loan offer.

Car loan:

Few of the Dubai financial institutions and banks offer car loans. This loan depends on the employee salary. You are eligible to take this loan if you get a monthly salary of 6000 AED. Tenor of this loan is 5-8 years. Annual interest rate is 9-11%. You need to provide bank statements of 6 months, salary certificate, details of any credit cards or loans, details of car and clear repayment of other loans.

Safety Transfer loan:

This loan is offered by most banks in Dubai. The amount range is from 20000 to 250000 AED. Retail banking department offer this loan with 4-10 working days turn around time. The interest rate is better than the personal loan and depends on the strength of employer. Tenor of this loan is 12-48 months. Annual interest rate is 12-16%. You need to provide clear repayment of other loans, salary certificate and bank statement of 12 months.

Loan against property:

This is same as home loan except in this loan you can borrow against the asset. You are eligible if you can show the cash floe of your business. The loan amount is 52-65% of the property value. Tenor of this loan is 5-15 years. Annual interest rate is 7.5-9.5%. You need to provide salary certificate, bank statement of 6 months, details of credit cards or loans, details of property and clear repayment history.