Dubai lender Emirates NBD posted a 40% surge in full-year net profit in 2022 to $3.5 billion (AED 13 billion) Thursday, driven by the UAE’s strong economic growth that helped boost margins and overall income.
Last year, the bank said there was a record demand for retail financing and $13.6 billion (AED 50 billion) of new corporate lending, $5.4 billion (AED 20 billion) growth in current and savings accounts and a substantially lower cost of risk.
The company posted a 36% jump in total income to $8.8 billion (AED 32.5 billion), helped by its deposit mix with higher interest rates feeding through to margins and strong growth across all business segments and products, Emirates NBD said in a statement, adding that net interest margin went up 3.4% and 2023 forecast set even higher on rising interest rates. Earnings per share rose 43%, while impairment charges fell 12%.
Net interest income rose 37% year-on-year (YoY) on improved loan and deposit mix with higher rates feeding through margins, the company said in a statement. Non-funded income edged up 35% YoY from increased local and international card transactions and growth in foreign exchange and derivative income.
In the fourth quarter, the bank, which is majority owned by the government of Dubai, made a profit of $1.1 billion (AED 3.9 billion), up 94% from the same period a year earlier. This reflects improving margins and lower cost of risk, the bank said in the statement.
Emirates NBD was ranked fifth on Forbes Middle East's Top 30 Banks In The Middle East 2022 list.
