Bank of Sharjah retains hope of an eventual Lebanon economy rebound helping its ELBank

Bank of Sharjah retains hope of an eventual Lebanon economy rebound helping its ELBank

Dubai: Some problems are way too difficult to shake off. Just ask Bank of Sharjah’s Varouj Nerguizian, Group CEO. The bank has been riding the same growth dynamics that other UAE banks have recorded in their numbers this year -- top-line and bottom-line gains brought on from higher interest income, a bustling business landscape in the country, and sustained demand from individual customers. In the first six months, Bank of Sharjah’s net profit from UAE operations was Dh104.4 million compared to the Dh9 million it came up with same period in 2021. As with other UAE banks, Bank of Sharjah, too, emerged from the shadow of the pandemic. The same was the case at the nine-month mark. If the narrative ended there, Bank of Sharjah would be sitting pretty. The problem is it doesn’t, because of its stake in Emirates Lebanon Bank, which along with all other Lebanese financial institutions has been caught up in myriad problems dogging that economy. The subsequent hit on Bank of Sharjah is substantial and has been the case for more than three years. At the nine-month stage this year, the bank’s net loss was at Dh282 million compared to a crippling Dh1.3 billion a