Abu Dhabi: The drop oil prices has not impacted Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) till now, its group chief executive officer said in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
“Oil prices have gone up and down. it may have an impact. It is soon for us to feel the impact. We have not felt the impact on any level,” said Ala’a Eraiqat, group chief executive director of ADCB.
“Even the right agencies in the country have predicted growth this year. Until now We are comfortable with what’s going on. We are still focusing on granular smaller business in the UAE. May be if we have much bigger portfolio outside it might have certain impact.”
He said 90 per cent of the bank’s assets are from the UAE.
“Over the last five years, our balance sheet grew 14 per cent but our income grew 50 per cent. We feel we are better positioned than many other competitors.”
As a result of ADCB’s record performance in 2014, the Board of directors of the bank has recommended a cash dividend of 40 fils per share, translating to a payout of Dh2.1 billion (excluding treasury shares) equivalent to 50 per cent of net profit, subject to approval by the shareholders at the annual general meeting and by the UAE Central Bank, the bank said.
Eraiqat said that they have seen a minor margin compression in the bank’s portfolio and they have addressed that through cross selling, through focusing on granular business and investing in addressing the quality of service.
“We are going to focus on service. We are attempting seriously to invest in services. We believe there is correlation between quality service and profitability. The UAE deserves a much better quality of financial services. We have a great one today but I don’t think we are the best one in the world.”
