UAE Bonds & Sukuk Yields Explained — What They Pay in 2026 (AED Reference)
Updated: 2 days ago
Every few weeks a reader asks me some version of the same question: my dirhams are sitting in a bank account earning almost nothing — what do UAE government bonds and sukuk actually pay, and can an everyday resident even buy them? The honest answer has two layers. The UAE Ministry of Finance's Treasury Bonds and Treasury Sukuk are auctioned to licensed primary dealers, but a growing slice — the Retail T-Sukuk programme — is now accessible to individuals through participating banks and the DFM/Nasdaq Dubai secondary market. Bank-issued AT1 perpetual sukuk, by contrast, are professional-investor instruments most residents will only meet inside a mutual fund. This reference page pulls the current numbers together in one table, so you can see where UAE fixed income actually sits right now.
As of 10 September 2026, sovereign T-Sukuk and T-Bond auctions were last priced in July 2026 at a yield-to-maturity in the high-4% range, the CBUAE's base rate has been held at 3.65% since its last review on 29 July 2026, and bank AT1 perpetual sukuk — a much riskier, higher-paying instrument — were priced at 6.25–6.50%. Every figure below is dated to its own source; the Ministry of Finance and CBUAE do not republish sukuk or EIBOR data daily, so where a newer print did not exist at time of writing I've kept the last confirmed reading rather than guess.
UAE Bond & Sukuk Yield Reference — reviewed 10 September 2026
Rates as of 10 September 2026 (each row dated to its own last-published source) — indicative, change frequently, and should be verified directly with the bank, the Ministry of Finance, or the CBUAE before acting.
Instrument | Issuer | Maturity / Tenor | Yield or Profit Rate | As Of | Currency |
Retail T-Sukuk (secondary market) | UAE Ministry of Finance | 2 years (matures Jul 2028) | 4.30% indicative profit rate | 2 Jul 2026 | AED |
Treasury Sukuk (T-Sukuk, primary auction) | UAE MoF / CBUAE primary dealers | ~15 months (Oct 2027 tranche) | 4.49% YTM (auction) | Jul 2026 | AED |
Treasury Bond (T-Bond, primary auction) | UAE MoF / CBUAE primary dealers | ~4.5 years (Jan 2031 tranche) | 4.48% YTM (auction) | Jul 2026 | AED |
CBUAE Base Rate (Overnight Deposit Facility) | Central Bank of the UAE | Overnight | 3.65% (held, tracks US Fed IORB) | 29 Jul 2026 | AED |
EIBOR — 3-Month | Central Bank of the UAE | Rolling 3 months | 3.840% (last published fixing on file) | 26 Aug 2026 | AED |
EIBOR — 6-Month | Central Bank of the UAE | Rolling 6 months | 3.958% (last published fixing on file) | 26 Aug 2026 | AED |
National Bonds Savings Certificate (declared profit) | National Bonds Corporation | Annual declaration, paid on 2025 holdings | Up to 4.45% declared profit | 1 Apr 2026 | AED |
AT1 Perpetual Sukuk (bank capital) | Ajman Bank | Perpetual / non-call 5.5 years | 6.50% profit rate | 8 Jul 2026 | USD |
AT1 Perpetual Sukuk (bank capital) | Dubai Islamic Bank | Perpetual / non-call 6 years | 6.25% profit rate | 9 Jun 2026 | USD |
How to Read This Table
A bond pays fixed interest; a sukuk pays a Sharia-compliant "profit rate" from an underlying asset or trading arrangement — economically similar to an investor, but structured to avoid conventional interest (riba). "YTM" (yield to maturity) is the annualised return an auction buyer earns if they hold the instrument to maturity, factoring in the price paid versus face value; a "profit rate" on a retail or bank sukuk is usually just the declared periodic payment. AT1 ("Additional Tier 1") perpetual sukuk are a bank's own capital-raising instrument — they have no fixed maturity, can be written down in a stress scenario, and pay a higher rate specifically because they carry more risk than a government instrument.
EIBOR (the Emirates Interbank Offered Rate) is the rate UAE banks lend AED to each other at, published daily by the Central Bank of the UAE, and it underpins the pricing of floating-rate loans, mortgages and some deposit products across the country.
My rule of thumb: if a yield looks a lot higher than the sovereign number in the table above, ask what risk you're being paid to take before you ask how to buy it.
What Changes These Numbers
The US Federal Reserve — because the dirham is pegged to the US dollar, CBUAE's base rate tracks the Fed's Interest on Reserve Balances (IORB) rate closely — a Fed move typically shows up in the CBUAE decision within the same review cycle.
Auction demand — T-Sukuk and T-Bond yields are set by primary-dealer bidding, not a fixed coupon — when demand is strong (oversubscription, as UAE auctions regularly see), the yield the government pays tends to sit tighter versus comparable US Treasuries.
Tenor / duration — longer-dated tranches generally price at a different yield than short ones on the same auction day, reflecting the shape of the curve at that moment.
Issuer risk — sovereign paper (backed by the UAE federal government, rated Aa2/AA/AA- by Moody's/S&P/Fitch) prices tighter than bank AT1 perpetual sukuk, which carry loss-absorption features and no fixed maturity — hence the much higher 6%+ profit rates on those instruments.
Who Each Option Suits
Retail T-Sukuk and National Bonds savings certificates suit an AED saver who wants a government- or quasi-government-backed return without picking individual bank promos. Primary T-Bond/T-Sukuk auctions are really a professional/institutional venue — most residents access that exposure indirectly through a bank's fixed-income fund rather than bidding directly. Bank AT1 perpetual sukuk are for sophisticated investors who understand they can be written down in a stress event; they are not a substitute for a savings account.
FAQ — UAE Bonds & Sukuk Yields
How do I buy the UAE Retail T-Sukuk?
The Retail T-Sukuk programme is distributed through participating UAE banks and trades on the secondary market via the DFM and Nasdaq Dubai once issued; ask your bank's wealth or investment desk whether they currently offer subscription access, since availability and minimums vary by bank.
What's the difference between a sukuk and a bond?
A bond is a conventional interest-bearing loan to the issuer. A sukuk represents a share in an underlying Sharia-compliant asset or business arrangement and pays a "profit rate" instead of interest — economically comparable for most investors, but structured differently to satisfy Islamic finance principles.
Why do bank AT1 sukuk pay so much more than government sukuk?
Because they carry materially more risk: AT1 instruments have no fixed maturity, sit low in a bank's capital stack, and can be written down if the bank's capital ratios fall below a trigger level. The extra 2–3 percentage points over sovereign paper is compensation for that loss-absorption risk, not a "better deal."
Does the AED–USD peg affect these yields?
Yes — because the dirham is pegged to the dollar, the CBUAE generally moves its base rate in step with the US Federal Reserve, which flows through to EIBOR and, over time, to how UAE government paper is priced relative to US Treasuries.
Are UAE government sukuk and bonds safe for everyday AED savers?
Sovereign T-Bonds and T-Sukuk are backed by the UAE federal government and carry investment-grade ratings from Moody's, S&P and Fitch, which makes them lower-risk than bank-issued instruments — but "lower-risk" is not "risk-free," and pricing/liquidity can still move against you if you need to sell before maturity. This isn't a recommendation to buy any specific instrument.
Sources & Methodology
Figures on this page are compiled from the UAE Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of the UAE, Emirates News Agency (WAM), Zawya, and National Bonds Corporation's reported 2025 results via Gulf News. Every figure is dated to its own publish date rather than restated as "current" — verify with the issuing institution before acting on any rate here. This is general information, not financial advice.
Pair It With
For AED cash sitting in a bank account rather than in sukuk, see our weekly UAE Savings & Fixed Deposit Rates Compared reference, and for the policy backdrop behind the CBUAE base rate, see UAE Interest Rate Decision 2026.
— Angel Tyagi, Creator of Angel In Dubai
Rates and figures here are indicative and were correct as of the dates stated in the table above; they change often, so verify with the bank, the Ministry of Finance, or the CBUAE before acting. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Not sponsored — rates and terms may change; always confirm with the issuing institution.
Photo credits: Photo by PhotoHound via Unsplash (Dubai skyline at dusk); Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya via Unsplash (calculator image); author photo courtesy Angel Tyagi.
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