First Abu Dhabi Bank’s full-year profit jumps 19% on investment gains – The National

First Abu Dhabi Bank’s full-year profit jumps 19% on investment gains – The National

First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE’s largest lender by assets, reported a 19 per cent jump in its 2021 profit on the back of higher net fee and commission income and gains on investments as the Arab world's second-largest economy continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Net profit attributable to shareholders for the year climbed to Dh12.5 billion ($3.4bn), the lender said in a statement on Thursday to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares trade.

The results beat the average forecast of 10 analysts on Refinitiv's Eikon data that had estimated a Dh12bn net profit.

Net gain on investments and derivatives surged more than six-fold to Dh6.48bn, while net fee and commission income rose 4 per cent to Dh3bn.

"2021 has been a year of a strong economic rebound, with unprecedented opportunities for innovation and growth, despite continued uncertainties due to Covid-19," Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of First Abu Dhabi Bank said.

"Against this backdrop, the UAE has once again demonstrated great vision and leadership, leading the way towards recovery, regionally and globally, on the back of its world-class vaccination programme, monetary and fiscal stimulus measures including the UAE Central Bank Tess programme, structural reforms and plans to drive