Dubai’s Emirates NBD in early talks for possible acquisition of Blom Bank Egypt

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