Top 10 UAE banks post 35% Q1 profit surge

Top 10 UAE banks post 35% Q1 profit surge

Total assets of the top 10 banks increased by 10.6% in 2022

An Emirates NBD branch. Picture for illustrative purposes only. — KT file

Published: Mon 29 May 2023, 9:23 PM

The combined net profit of the UAE’s 10 largest banks jumped 35 per cent to Dh18.3 billion quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2023 on the back of “enhanced cost efficiencies and lower impairment charges,” a study by a leading global professional services firm said.

The surge in profitability, underpinned by the country’s robust economic growth and resilient business landscape, was further supported by a rise in non-core income as incremental deposit growth outstripped credit growth for the first time since Q1 2022 amidst monetary tightening. L&A (loans and advances) growth was up by 2.0 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), while deposits increased by 6.2 per cent QoQ, the study by Alvarez & Marsal said.

“This has been a very strong quarter for the UAE banks. We expect that for the balance of the year, the UAE banking sector will maintain the gains of the first quarter,” said Asad Ahmed, A&M managing director and head of Middle East Financial Services.

The latest UAE Banking Pulse released by A&M shows that the aggregate net interest income (NII)