DUBAI  - The central bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Sunday it stood ready to extend "all the available liquidity facilities" to struggling Invest Bank.

The central bank said in a statement it had been working with the bank and the government of Sharjah to develop a plan to strengthen the lender's capital base.

Invest Bank is based in Sharjah, one of the seven members of the UAE federation. It has been hit by recent high levels of bad loans, partly due to its exposure to the troubled real estate and construction market.

The bank's board of directors on Friday said it would recommend to its shareholders the injection of capital by the Sharjah government as a majority strategic investor in the bank.

The UAE central bank said it would "support Invest Bank with all the available liquidity facilities, which remain at Invest Bank’s disposal; if, and when, needed."

(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Mark Potter) ((maher.chmaytelli@thomsonreuters.com;))