Lombard loans on the DFM.
Private, securities-backed credit against Dubai Financial Market-listed shares — pledged, not sold.
A Lombard loan against DFM-listed shares is credit secured by a pledge of equity listed on the Dubai Financial Market. The holder pledges the shares, draws cash against a fraction of their market value, retains ownership and dividends subject to structuring, and recovers the position on repayment. In plainer terms it is a share-backed loan: a loan against shares, not a disposal of them.
- Facilities are arranged against equity listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), Dubai.
- The pledge preserves ownership, dividends, and the upside for the holder.
- Loan-to-value is set per line; funded in AED or cross-currency.
- Structured under the CMA regime, with disclosure at the levels the listing exchange sets.
The venue
The Dubai Financial Market is Dubai's principal exchange, distinct from Nasdaq Dubai (which lists in USD under DFSA jurisdiction). DFM listings are predominantly Sharia-compliant; foreign ownership caps remain a per-issuer consideration for collateralisation.
Regulator and disclosure
The Dubai Financial Market operates under the Capital Market Authority (CMA). Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2025, Art. 33(4): DFM sets the rules on disclosure of ownership percentages in its listed instruments, and earlier Securities and Commodities Authority resolutions stay in effect where consistent until replaced (Art. 82).
A pledge over a substantial line is arranged with that reporting regime in view, so that the facility is both discreet and compliant, and so that positions near a control or takeover threshold are not disturbed.
For who must report a pledge, and what an enforcement would make public, in each market the firm covers, see the comparison of share pledge disclosure rules.
Structuring a facility here
Lombard facilities against DFM-listed shares are typically arranged for a tenor of twelve to thirty-six months, funded in AED or another currency on a cross-currency basis, with the collateral held by a qualified custodian under bankruptcy-remote arrangements. Non-recourse, limited-recourse, and full-recourse structures are available; the choice interacts with the loan-to-value and the spread. Unlike a stock loan in the securities-lending sense, title does not pass: the line stays registered to the holder for the life of the facility.
| Exchange | Dubai Financial Market (DFM) |
|---|---|
| City · Country | Dubai · United Arab Emirates |
| Regulator | Capital Market Authority (CMA) |
| Disclosure | Substantial holdings at the levels the listing exchange sets |
| Principal indices | DFM General Index |
| Segments | Main Market; Sharia-compliant indices and segments |
| Currency · Tenor | AED · 12–36 months |
| Recourse | Non-recourse / limited-recourse / full-recourse |
The United Arab Emirates market as a whole
The United Arab Emirates country overview gathers every United Arab Emirates listing venue in one place: the national disclosure regime, the wider securities-backed lending picture, and the common ground behind any loan against shares listed in the United Arab Emirates.
- Lombard loans in the United Arab Emirates — the country overview: every listing venue, the national disclosure regime, currency, and how a facility is arranged.
- Lombard loans against ADX-listed shares — Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Abu Dhabi, the other principal United Arab Emirates venue.
Financing a position listed on the DFM?
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On this market, specifically.
Liquidity and the index
The Dubai Financial Market is tracked by the DFM General Index, and its listings are predominantly Sharia-compliant. Liquidity concentrates in the larger index constituents, so the depth and free float of the specific line are what matter when a substantial position is pledged. It is worth distinguishing DFM from Nasdaq Dubai, which lists in USD under DFSA jurisdiction; the two are separate venues. For a DFM large-cap, free float rather than aggregate turnover generally frames how conservatively a Lombard loan is sized against the holding.
Structuring notes
Two features shape a pledge on DFM: most listings are Sharia-compliant, so where a mandate requires it the Lombard credit can be arranged on Islamic-finance lines; and foreign-ownership caps remain a per-issuer consideration for a non-resident client, confirmed line by line. The venue is also distinct from Nasdaq Dubai, its USD-denominated, DFSA-regulated counterpart.
Settlement runs through the Dubai infrastructure, with the pledged shares held by a qualified custodian so ownership is preserved, and the ownership-disclosure rules that apply to DFM listings under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2025 are observed. Funding can be taken in AED or on a cross-currency basis.