Abu Dhabi government-owned Islamic lender Al Hilal Bank has appointed an interim chief executive.
Khaled AlKhoori has stepped down and been replaced by chief financial officer Craig Bell, on an acting basis, it said in a statement yesterday.
Mr AlKhoori was appointed in December 2015 “during a critical transitional phase” which included developing the bank’s 2020 strategy, to “initiate its execution, and implement an overall bank restructure”.
No further details were provided on the restructuring.
“Mr AlKhoori meticulously and successfully completed his task and he will be now moving to his next chapter,” the bank said. Mr Bell will be supported by “the newly appointed leadership team” which includes chief information officer Gopikrishnan Janakaraja and head of treasury banking Yousuf Sandeela, both appointed in August.
A permanent chief executive “will be announced in due course”, the bank said.
Al Hilal has been the subject of speculation that it could merge with one of its Abu Dhabi rivals.
Both Moody’s and Fitch ratings agencies have highlighted the lender’s weak profitability compared to the overall sector and its concentration of risks. The latter had caused the bank difficulties in 2014 and 2015, according to the rating agencies.
Al Hilal’s profit for last year’s second quarter fell almost 78 per cent to Dh28.2 million from Dh128m a year earlier as higher provisions and lower income from Islamic financing affected the bottom line.
The fall in oil prices to around half from their summer 2014 peak has affected the entire UAE banking sector’s rate of profitability as government deposits fell and slower economic activity impacted the SME sector.
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