Bank looks at what you pay yourself
60%maximum lending
- Your income
- What you pay yourself out of the company each month
- Documentation requirements
- Minimal
- Business age
- 1+ years
Self-employed
Financing for business owners isn't necessarily complex; however, it often requires structuring of income and always requires selecting the right bank to work with.
You run your business here
Two types of lending
As a business owner, the bank needs to work out your monthly income. We can make them assess this in one of two ways, and the method we choose decides how much and what percentage you can borrow.
Lending based on what you pay yourself
It can be much easier to secure a mortgage when you pay yourself consistently from your business. When we apply for the lending through this route, the amount of documents required decreases significantly, there is no need to share audited financial reports, and depending on your business it's often easier to obtain a higher loan amount.
Minimum requirements
- You pay yourself at least AED 30,000 a month (ideally AED 40,000)
- You've paid yourself this in at least four out of the last six months
- Your business has been operating for 1+ years
How much will the banks lend
This mostly depends on how long your business has been operating.
Business 1–2 years old50%lending
Business 2+ years old60%lending
Document requirements
- PassportMake sure it's a clear copy
- Emirates IDFront and back
- VisaDownloaded from the ICP UAE app
- Trade licenseEnsure it is not expired
- MOA/AOAWith all amendments
- Personal bank statementsLast six months, showing transfers from your company
Lending based on your company's turnover
If you want to borrow 80% as a business owner, get ready to share some documents…
Securing the lending this way is totally possible, and not necessarily difficult. But your documents need to be in order, and your company's profile should be solid.
Minimum requirements
- Your company bank statements show consistent revenue over the last 12 months
- Your business has been operating for 2+ years, ideally 3
- You have a proper office setup (no flexi-desk)
How the bank calculates your income
Banks can't look at every business individually, so they use some hard-and-fast rules. Generally, they'll apply a 10–12% profit margin to your company's annual turnover, unless you have audited financial statements proving your margins are higher. Your turnover is calculated from the incoming transactions in your company's bank accounts, and sometimes your VAT returns too.
Once the bank has established your annual profit, it multiplies that by your shareholding percentage and divides the result by 12. That is what the bank considers your monthly income.
Example: a business with AED 4,000,000 annual turnover, where you own 50% of the shares.
Annual turnoverAED 4,000,000
× 10%
Assumed profitAED 400,000
× 50%
Your shareAED 200,000
÷ 12
Monthly incomeAED 16,667
In reality, this means business owners with high margins can struggle to get the financing they need. Even if you're making a profit of AED 1,000,000 a year, if your total turnover is AED 1,200,000, the bank will calculate your income at only AED 10,000 a month. Unfortunately, the loan you can secure on that won't be funding your Emirates Hills mansion…
Document requirements
- Emirates IDFront and back
- PassportMake sure it's a clear copy
- UAE visaDownloaded from the ICP UAE app
- Trade licenseEnsure it is not expired
- MOA/AOAWith all amendments
- Company bank statementsLast 12 months
- VAT registration certificateIf you are paying VAT
- VAT returnsLast four quarters
- Personal bank statementsLast six months
- Office EjariThis needs to be current
- Audited financial statementsLast two years
- Customer invoicesFor higher value transactions