RAKBank says 250 job losses will be expatriates

RAKBank said there’s no change to its business strategy, despite the job losses. Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah (RAKBank) said expatriate staff will account for the as many as 250 job losses that the UAE lender plans as it adjusts to slowing growth.

Headcount had grown by about 600 in the past three years, “on the back of a significant increase in new business volume, which has now settled at more sustainable levels,” chief executive Peter England said in a statement to Abu Dhabi’s stock market on Wednesday.

Banks in the UAE are prepared for deteriorating conditions as oil prices remain lower for longer, leading to a decline in government spending, slower economic growth and falling asset quality, Standard & Poor’s said on January 11.

Loan-loss provisions at Abu Dhabi-based Union National Bank jumped 57 per cent in the third quarter and United Arab Bank swung to a loss from a year-earlier profit in the period.

RAKBank said there’s no change to its business strategy. It recently re-entered wholesale banking and “has been significantly increasing its product offerings and headcount in this segment, which is set to continue throughout 2016”.

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