Dubai’s Emirates NBD in early talks for possible acquisition of Blom Bank Egypt
- Date: 13-Aug-2020
- Source: Zawya
- Sector:Financial Services
- Country:UAE
Dubai’s Emirates NBD in early talks for possible acquisition of Blom Bank Egypt
Dubai's biggest bank, Emirates NBD, is in preliminary discussions with Lebanon's Blom Bank,regarding the possibility of a potential acquisition of its existing shareholding in Blom Bank Egypt.Discussions are ongoing and there is no certainty that any transaction will be completed, Emirates NBD said in a bourse filing. Emirates NBD posted a 58 percent plunge in Q2 profit this year. Net profit slumped to 2 billion dirhams ($544.5 million), down from 4.74 billion dirhams a year ago.The bank's non-performing loan ratio in Q2 was 5.8 percent and its total assets were up 29 percent at 694.3 billion dirhams, compared to last year.The bank has set aside more than $1.1 billion so far in 2020 to cover bad loans in anticipation that the impact of COVID-19 will worsen.On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Lebanon's