Answers
At what rate do banks stress test my application?
A short answer, with the article it comes from.
The answer
Between 2 and 4 percentage points above the current rate, which the regulation requires. In practice our panel assesses at about 7.3 percent.
CBUAE Circular 31/2013 Article 3.1, checked 26 August 2026.
The bank is not testing whether you can afford the rate you are offered. It is testing whether you could still afford the repayment if rates rose, and it does that inside the 50 percent debt burden limit.
The regulation sets the band: at least 2 and at most 4 percentage points above the current rate. Where a bank sits in that band is its own decision, and the spread is wide. The lowest assessment rate we have observed across our panel is 6.4 percent and the highest is 8.5 percent, with about 7.3 percent being typical.
On the same income, that spread moves what you can borrow by a six figure sum. It is the single clearest reason two banks give two different answers to the same applicant, and it is invisible on any rate comparison table, because it is not the rate you pay.
A calculator has to pick one assessment rate. Choosing where the file actually goes, knowing which lender is assessing at the low end of that band this month, is most of what a broker is for.
The 7.3 percent figure and the 6.4 to 8.5 percent range are observed across lenders, not regulation.
Rules are the easy part. Your file is the question.
The regulation sets the ceiling. Which bank says yes, and on what terms, is what we do.