A more protracted period of lower prices will strain asset quality," said Ashraf Madani, senior vice president and analyst at Moody's. Moody's has said a sizable cut in interest rate would reduce UAE banks' net interest margins) because gross yields earned on loans will decline more than the funding cost paid on deposits, and because the rate cut is unlikely to materially increase credit volumes in the current difficult operating environment. In March, S&P revised its outlooks of some UAE banks including First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Mashreqbank, Sharjah Islamic Bank and National Bank of Fujairah to negative, while affirming long- and short-term issuer credit ratings on these entities. S&P said it expects a significant slowdown in lending growth in 2020.