Abu Dhabi
Sharjah-based United Arab Bank (UAB) plans to open 10 more branches this year in the UAE to enhance its business growth, which, in recent times, has been spurred by the recovery in the local real estate market and growth in the country’s non-oil economy, Tom Smith, Executive Vice-President and Group Head of Retail Banking at UAB told Gulf News in an interview.
“Whilst we have recently shown tremendous growth, we have also being laying down the foundation to support further growth through the opening of new branches and investment in our internal infrastructure. As we continue to grow we will ensure that we continue to invest in the right areas to support growth, improve our customers experience, improve our product portfolio and ultimately continue our expansion plans for the future,” said Smith.
“In 2013, UAB will enhance its branch network with 10 more branches planned predominantly in Abu Dhabi and Dubai emirates and with a further 20 off-site ATM’s. We will further support our distribution network with an enhanced online banking offering, a new mobile banking offering and enlarged mobile sales force which will further enhance our capacity to bring our innovative product and services to our targeted customer segments,” he added.
He said businesses in UAE are gaining strength against a mixed global economic backdrop. “The headline numbers are very solid and show growth right through the non-oil private sector,” said Smith.
With a network of 20 branches across the UAE, UAB reported net profit of Dh298 million and operating profit of Dh382 million for the first nine months of 2012. UAB reported a record net profit of Dh330 million in 2011.
UAB was established in 1975 as a joint venture between UAE investors and Societe Generale. In December 2007, UAB became part of a GCC regional banking alliance upon the acquisition of a 40 per cent stake by Qatar’s largest private sector bank — The Commercial Bank of Qatar.
Shares in UAB on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, on Thursday, closed unchanged at Dh3.05. The bank is expected to declare its fiscal fourth quarter and full year 2012 financial results this week.
