Dubai: Sharjah’s Invest Bank reported on Wednesday Dh106 million in losses for the first quarter of 2019, as earnings plunged from the Dh64.7 million in profits recorded in the same quarter of 2018.
The losses came as the bank’s income plunged and expenses rose. Shareholders of the Invest Bank in April approved a proposal to let the government of Sharjah own over 50 per cent in it.
On Wednesday, the bank’s management said in its earnings report that Sharjah’s government will invest a total of Dh1.9 billion in the bank through a two-stage process in which it will follow an April 2019 injection of Dh1.1 billion by underwriting a rights issue of Dh785 million later in 2019.
In its earnings report for the first quarter, the bank’s management described the macro environment as “challenging” and cited “deterioration” in its loan book in 2018.
During the first quarter, Invest Bank saw its net impairment loss more than double year-on-year to reach Dh146.5 million. This was also net interest income more than halved, and fees and commission income as well as net income from foreign currencies both fell.
Loans and advances by the bank slid by 1 per cent to reach Dh10 billion at the end of March 2019, while customer deposits fell 14 per cent year-on-year to Dh10.9 billion.
