The cuts have been across several areas of the bank, which employs 12,000 people in the UAE, and the process has ended, said one of the sources.

A second source said the retail and technology operations were the most affected.

Emirates NBD declined to comment.

Dubai's economy grew 1.9% last year, its slowest pace since a contraction in 2009 during the depths of a debt crisis.

But in the first half of this year, growth edged up to 2.1%, the government said earlier this week, with wholesale and retail trade activities contributing to 25.5% of Dubai's gross domestic product (GDP).

A regional hub for foreign trade, tourism and business services, Dubai is among the most diversified economies in the Gulf, but it has been suffering from a property downturn.

Other banks in the UAE have been cutting staff this year, partly also because of bank mergers.

UAE central bank data shows local banks had laid off 446 people by the end of September from the same period a year ago.

(Adiitional reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Mark Potter)

By Saeed Azhar and Davide Barbuscia