Some of the country's biggest lenders reported third-quarter earnings yesterday with Emirates NBD bucking the recent trend to post a 7 per cent jump in profit on lower bad loan provisions.
The Abu Dhabi-listed First Gulf Bank, known as FGB, the country’s third-largest lender by assets, also reported yesterday, posting a 0.4 per cent dip in its third-quarter net profit, broadly in line with analysts’ estimates.
FGB made a net profit of Dh1.41 billion for the three months, which ended on September 30, compared to Dh1.42bn a year earlier, it said in an emailed statement yesterday.
Four analysts polled by Reuters this month forecast an average net profit of Dh1.51bn.
In the first nine months of this year, net profit increased 4 per cent to Dh4.29bn compared to a year earlier, FGB said.
Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest lender, made a net profit of Dh1.67bn in the three months to September 30, compared to Dh1.56bn in the same period in 2014. An average of four analysts polled by Reuters forecast the bank to make a net profit of Dh1.60bn for the third quarter.
The bank has reaped the benefits of a robust Dubai economy in recent years as the emirate has made progress in resolving its debt woes.
But pressure from lower crude oil prices has squeezed deposits across the banking system in recent months and generally lifted the sector’s loan-to-deposit ratio.
Despite the trickier operating environment, Emirates NBD’s provisions for bad loans dropped to Dh822 million in the third quarter, compared with Dh1.2bn a year earlier.
A significant amount of the bank’s provisioning in recent quarters has been towards boosting its bad loans coverage ratio, which improved to 115.3 per cent at the end of September, up from 70.3 per cent at the same point of 2014.
“Our prudent balance sheet and strong ability to attract and retain both retail and corporate deposits has helped offer protection against increased challenges that the region has experienced,” said Shayne Nelson, the chief executive of Emirates NBD.
Emirates Islamic reported a 47 per cent rise in commissions and fee income in the third quarter, helping net profit to almost triple to Dh86.9m compared to Dh29.2m a year earlier. Fee income rose to Dh123m in the three months to September compared to Dh83.2m a year earlier. Income from financing and investing activities also increased, by 20 per cent, to Dh461.5m, the bank said in a statement to the bourse.
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