National Bank of Ras al-Khaimah (RAK Bank) wants to raise the limit of its medium term notes (MTN) programme to $1 billion from $500,000, subject to shareholder approval, it said on Tuesday.

The bank is planning to hold an extraordinary meeting with shareholders on May 11 to discuss the extension, it said in a statement on the bourse website, without elaborating on details of the proposed increase.

Banks in the United Arab Emirates may consider tapping the debt market now that regional lenders such as National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and Banque Saudi Fransi have paved the way for new issues.

In March, Dubai lender Mashreqbank approved an increase of the limit of its euro medium-term notes programme to $5 billion from $2 billion.-Reuters