Dubai: After COVID-19 tightened income during most of 2020, UAE expatriates expectedly took on more loans – but how did this help bolster the economy and what did this mean for your personal finances? Economists view the uptick in loans as a much-needed buoy for the economy and stability for residents’ finances. UAE banks availed expats loans worth Dh149 billion from January to November last year – a figure that rose by Dh19.7 billion amid the pandemic, recent UAE Central Bank data showed. Steady growth in loans UAE’s loan growth has been picking up pace and economists have been widely weighing that this is indicative of the country's healthy financial profile despite the global economic slowdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.