United Bank reports Dh309.6m pretax profit

United Bank Ltd earned a pretax profit of $86 million (Dh309.6 million) in 2004, officials said.

The board of directors approved the bank's financial statements during its meeting on January 31, officials said.

The meeting was held in Abu Dhabi in the presence of Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Education and Chairman of United Bank Ltd (UBL), officials said.

The meeting was also attended by Mohammad Anwar Pervez OBE, vice-chairman, its directors, Omar Zaid Al Askari, Ahmad Waqar, Tahsin Khan Iqbal, Zameer Choudhry, and Atif Riaz Bokhari, president and chief executive officer.

One major factor contributing to the increase in profits was the net mark up/interest income after provisions, which increased 11 per cent over last year to $128 million (Dh460.8 million), officials said.

Income from foreign exchange dealing increased by 53 per cent to $12 million (Dh43.2 million), due to the weakening of the rupee, creating opportunities for effective arbitrage, officials said.

Deposits grew 25 per cent over 2003 and stood at $4 billion (Dh14.4 billion), compared to $2.7 billion (Dh9.72 billion) in 2002, officials said.

The improved performance of the bank resulted in the upgrading of its long-term credit rating to "A+" from "A" and its short-term rating to "A-1+" from "A-1" by the JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company, officials said.