Emirates Islamic Bank expects to resume "aggressive" lending and expansion this year, hoping to shrug off the effects of a loss-making first quarter as well as recent regulations on banks.
The Sharia-compliant lender expects to open five branches throughout the Emirates this year, said Faisal Aqil, the bank's deputy chief executive.
"This year, we've hired around 80 new staff, 60 of which were UAE nationals," he said.
"The plan is to add another 90 [staff]."
The new recruits will be hired "across the UAE" for the retail and small business lending divisions. The increased hiring comes as a number of banks reduce staff numbers in the UAE.
In spite of the Emirates Islamic Bank's expansion plans, a proposed tie with the UAE's Roads and Transport Authority has been delayed until at least next month, Mr Aqil added.
The plan would have allowed customers in Dubai to use a debit or credit card in place of their existing Metro cards.
The card, linked to a bank account with Emirates Islamic Bank or Emirates NBD, would have been automatically topped up and could have been used for payments for Metro, water taxis and parking tickets.
The launch of the so-called combi-card was initially scheduled for April.
The expansion drive comes after a change of management at Emirates Islamic Bank last month with Abdullah Showaiter taking over from the former chief executive Ebrahim Fayez al Shamsi. The bank, which is owned by Emirates NBD, hopes to turn around a loss of Dh20 million (US$5.4m) in the first quarter of this year, largely a result of provisions on bad debts totalling Dh108.5m.
The bank's new strategy aims to pare down lending to the troubled property sector and concentrate instead on sectors including oil and gas, tourism, retail andmanufacturing, Mr Aqil said.
"We've started lending and being aggressive again, and focusing on areas that we believe have good potential for growth," he said. New regulation by the Central Bank has limited the growth prospects for retail lending, but lending to small and medium-sized businesses looked attractive, said Mr Aqil.
However, the Central Bank has also stipulated that banks lower their corporate lending rates to help to bolster the domestic economy, creating another potential threat to bank margins.
ghunter@thenational.ae
Company%20Profile
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The%C2%A0specs%20
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
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Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 285bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: TBA
On sale: Q2, 2020
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
Final results:
Open men
Australia 94 (4) beat New Zealand 48 (0)
Plate men
England 85 (3) beat India 81 (1)
Open women
Australia 121 (4) beat South Africa 52 (0)
Under 22 men
Australia 68 (2) beat New Zealand 66 (2)
Under 22 women
Australia 92 (3) beat New Zealand 54 (1)