DIB lures with sukuk to avert Moody’s cut

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) may pay more than twice the Arabian Gulf average on Sharia-compliant debt for its first perpetual sukuk as the lender seeks to avert a downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. The United Arab Emirates' biggest Islamic lender will probably pay between 6.5 per cent and 7.14 per cent for the sukuk to boost Tier 1 capital, the core resources needed to cushion against losses, according to three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. This compares with a 2.65 per cent average yield on Islamic bonds issued by financial institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai indexes. The yield on Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) hybrid perpetual sukuk sold in November is 6.28 per cent, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Moody's placed Dubai Islamic on ratings watch for a possible cut in December because loan quality "remains very weak compared to peers" and the bank hasn't set aside enough money to cover losses. The world's oldest lender complying with Muslim banking rules is seeking to absorb bad loans stemming from a property crash that sent Dubai home prices tumbling more than 65 per cent. Tier-1 sukuk can be treated as equity and thus used to bolster capital. "With a yield of seven per cent or more, DIB Tier 1 sukuk will be very attractive to the investors seeking high yields as no other names in the sukuk market offer higher yield except for riskier names such as Nakheel or Dana Gas," Montasser Khelifi, a Dubai-based senior analyst at Quantum Investment Bank, said by e-mail on March 7. time of oman