Dubai: The profit growth march of UAE’s biggest banks continues, with Emirates NBD’s nine-month tally coming to Dh17.49 billion, up quite impressively on the Dh9 billion from a year ago. The higher interest rate environment and the appetite for new loan growth despite remains a primary driver of the financials.
The Dh17 billion plus was enough for a new record for the Dubai bank, which also pulled in higher recoveries on its exposures. (The profit includes Dh1.9 billion delivered by its Turkish entity, DenizBank.)
The profit was built on another ‘record’, as income hit Dh32.7 billion for the nine months, which is 44 per cent higher from 2022. All told, the net interest margin was an impressive 4 per cent, in line with the top end of the guidance. (That's 90 basis points up year-on-year.)
Emirates NBD’s profit hit a record high of Dh17.5 billion reflecting the Group’s increasing regional presence and leading digital capabilities.
Loan growth
Of particular note will be the 8 per cent growth in the bank’s loan book, on strong ‘retail growth momentum’, and the corporate lending division closing ‘landmark deals’ in the region. (Retail loans are up 16 per cent, while corporate gained 15 per cent.)
This was built around a solid foundation, of high interest rates. The bank's net interest income shot past Dh18 billion for the nine months against Dh13.2 billion last year.
A ‘solid balance-sheet with improvement in capital, liquidity and credit quality and strong profit remain core strengths of the group’, Emirates NBD said in a statement.
Plus, the bank was gaining further traction on its digital platform take up rates.
We expanded our digital wealth platform, giving customers access to more than 11,000 global equities, and enhanced our 'Priority' offering for ultra-high networth customers, which helped drive 28 per cent growth in assets under management.
DenizBank pulls its weight
The bank's wholly-owned Turkey exposure - DenizBank - had non-funded income higher in the first nine months through 'higher customer transaction volumes and margins, hedges and swaps'. The Q3-23 net interest income too came in higher due to 'wider margins, loan growth, CPI-linked income and indexation'.
Overall, "The Group’s strong capital base enabled the balance-sheet to grow 13 per cent, to Dh836 billion, in 2023," said Patrick Sullivan, Group Chief Financial Officer at the Dubai bank.
Emirates NBD’s strength is recognised by Fitch, being one of only three UAE banks to have an investment grade unsupported 'Viability Rating'.
