Union National Bank, a lender owned by both the governments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, cut about 50 positions as economic growth slows in the UAE, two people familiar with the matter said.
The Abu Dhabi-based bank eliminated jobs mostly in retail sales, although there were some in wholesale banking and middle management as well, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information is not yet public. 
The bank employs about 2,000 people in the UAE. A spokesman for the lender declined to comment.
Union National Bank joins other lenders in the UAE that have cut jobs to adjust to stalling economic growth as a halving of oil prices over the past two years hurts government revenue and spending across the Gulf, holder of about a third of the world’s oil reserves. 
Emirates NBD, the UAE’s biggest bank, reduced its workforce by more than 250 people at its small and medium enterprise and Islamic lending businesses, it said in April. National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah cut as many as 250 positions in January.
“Most banks are looking at reducing cost overheads as a means to offset a deterioration in revenue and bad-loan charges,” said Sanyalak Manibhandu, an Abu Dhabi-based analyst at NBAD Securities. Impairments have “been moving higher and are likely to continue to grow into 2017,” he said.
Economic output in the UAE, the second-biggest Arab economy, will expand 2.6% this year, the slowest pace since 2010, according to the median of 11 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Banks in the UAE are prepared for deteriorating conditions as oil prices remain lower for longer and asset quality worsens, S&P Global Ratings said on January 11.
Impairment charges at Union National Bank climbed 7% in the six months through June, with the lender reporting a decline in profit in each of the past four quarters.
The job cuts at Union National Bank also come amid consolidation in the banking industry in Abu Dhabi. National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank, the emirate’s two biggest lenders, have agreed to a combination that will create a regional powerhouse with $175bn in assets. The merger may trigger further consolidation in the industry, including possibly a tie up of Union National Bank and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, according to investment bank EFG-Hermes Holding SAE.