Bank of Baroda UAE hits 2022 net profit of Dh322m, brings down impairments

Bank of Baroda UAE hits 2022 net profit of Dh322m, brings down impairments

Dubai: The UAE operations of India’s Bank of Baroda recorded a net profit of Dh322 million for 2022, aided by lower impairment losses and higher recovery of NPAs. Gains were also brought by higher interest income, in large part from the successive rate hikes by the US Federal reserve and reflected locally too. “Our performance is a testament to our robust business model and our ability to navigate the challenging economic environment,” said Nishant Ranjan, the Chief Executive. The bank’s net interest income registered a 39 per cent growth, boosted by the net loan portfolio. Net interest margin was up to 2.6 per cent from 1.74 per cent, ‘indicating a substantial improvement in the bank’s ability to generate income from its interest-earning assets’. Bank of Baroda recorded sizeable gains in its advances and deposit portfolio during the year. While the advances portfolio grew 19 per cent to Dh13.89 billion, customer deposits increased by more than 12 per cent to Dh14.4 billion. (Within the overall deposits, CASA clocked a gain of 18.81 per cent.) The bank’s net NPA ratio stands at 1.62 per cent for the end of December 2022 and recoveries under NPA have shown a ‘marked improvement’. “We remain