Dubai: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the banking entity that was created from the merger of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank, said on Wednesday it “has made significant progress in the post-merger integration journey.
In its report for financial performance for the third quarter of 2017, the bank said that from a financial perspective, the benefits of the merger are “materialising quickly and ahead of plan, and one-time integration costs are well under control.”
“[The progress so far in integration] included the finalisation of the bank’s organisational structure, operating model, and the harmonisation of group policies and our risk framework. The optimisation of branches and centralisation of back office activities are also underway to enhance efficiency and productivity across the business,” the bank said.
The merger, which became effective in April 2017, created one of the largest banks in the Middle East and Africa, with Dh644 billion in total assets as of September 2017.
IT system integration for the merger is also on track, and the bank expects to complete its rebranding across all critical customer touch-points by the end of this year.
FAB reported an 18 per cent year-on-year plunge in its net profits for the third quarter of 2017, which reached Dh2.6 billion as operating income fell 16 per cent.
The drop in income came as fees and commissions income fell 20 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, and FX and investment income slid 5 per cent year-on-year.
For the first nine months of 2017, FAB’s operating income was 5 per cent lower compared to the same period in 2016. It reached Dh14.5 billion.
Meanwhile, loans and advances by the bank also slowed down, falling 3 per cent year-on-year to reach Dh328 billion at the end of September 2017. Customer deposits were higher, however, by 4 per cent at Dh378.9 billion at the end of September.
“As we continue to build strong foundations to support the long term sustainable growth of our franchise, we are on track to meet our targets for the current year, and our strong capital buffers provide us with ample room to deliver top returns for our shareholders,” said Abdul Hamid Saeed, FAB’s group chief executive officer.
