A customer exits an Emirates NBD bank branch in Dubai. Emirates NBD expects the buoyant local economy to keep boosting its profits and allow the bank to build up its bad loan coverage ratio without the kind of severe provisioning which stymied recent earnings, its CEO said yesterday. Dubai’s largest lender beat analysts’
forecasts with a 25% jump in first-quarter net profit to 1.04bn dirhams ($283.7mn) as higher interest and fee income outstripped a jump in provisions. The result
maintained the impressive profit growth posted by banks in the UAE so far for the first quarter as they enjoy a rebound in the local economy which is improving the finances of their clients - whose bad debts and billion-dollar restructurings were weighing on the banks. Non-interest income, which climbed to 1.1bn dirhams, was a
reflection of the booming economy. Brokerage fees rose 86% year-on-year and banking fee income - aided by higher credit card activity - gained 44% on last year.
