FAB reports AED3bn Q1 profit

Abu Dhabi / WAM

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), reported on Sunday a net profit of AED3 billion for the first quarter of 2018, up two percent year-on-year and six percent quarter-on-quarter.
Commenting on the bank’s performance, Abdulhamid Saeed, Group Chief Executive Officer of FAB, said, “I am pleased to announce that we started 2018 on a positive note with FAB realising a record Group Net Profit of AED3 billion. During the quarter, we continued to build on the many successes we have achieved to-date, whilst delivering strong revenues and healthy balance sheet growth.”
“We also maintained a strong capital position even after the distribution of AED 7.6 billion of cash dividends earlier this year. As we enter our second year, FAB continues to make significant progress in delivering on its business objectives and integration milestones, with IT integration activities in particular moving forward at a steady pace and according to plan,” he added.
Saeed went on to say that “As part of our business expansion strategy, we are also extending our presence into Saudi Arabia, after receiving commercial and investment banking licenses from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority and Capital Market Authority.”
“Looking ahead to the remainder of 2018, we remain steadfast in our commitment to support the growth ambitions of our shareholders, customers, employees and all other stakeholders. We will continue to contribute to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s vision of a strong and prosperous UAE, as we put our customers first and remain ahead of market trends,” he concluded.

SIB hits AED143.1mn net profit
Sharjah / WAM

The Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB), announced its first quarter 2018 financial results with net profits of AED143.1mn, compared to AED139.1mn in the same period last year, indicating a three percent increase. According to a press statement, total assets reached AED42.4bn at the end of the first quarter of 2018, compared to AED38.3bn at the end of 2017,
representing an increase of 11%.
On the asset side of the balance sheet, customer financing saw a 1.1% rise, with AED22bn at the end of first quarter of 2018, compared to AED21.7bn at the end of 2017. Investment in securities, which mainly represents investments in sovereign and investment grade-rated tradable Sukuk, increased significantly by 19% to reach AED6bn, compared to
AED5bn at the end of 2017.
The SIB continues its strategy to maintain the liquid assets ratio above 22 percent of total assets, and reached AED10 billion, or 23.6 percent, at the end of 2016.
On the liability side, despite the tight liquidity during the year, the SIB successfully attracted more customer deposits during the year to reach AED25.5 billion, growing by AED3.2 billion or 14.1 percent compared to AED22.3 billion at the end of 2017.
As part of the SIB’s ongoing strategy to continue to diversify its funding sources, the bank has successfully issued a new five-year Sukuk of US$500 million during April 2018, as part of US$3 billion medium terms Sukuk-approved programme. The SIB currently has three outstanding Sukuk totalling US$1.5 billion

Rakbank posts AED205mn profit
RAS AL KHAIMAH / WAM

The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBANK), announced a consolidated net profit of AED205.1 million, an increase of AED50.4 million over the first quarter of 2017. The total assets stood at AED49.1 billion, which is an increase of 14.6% compared to March 31, 2017.
Gross Loans and Advances closed at AED33.6 billion, with a 10.3% increase over the same period of last year. Total income has declined by 2.3% when compared to last quarter of 2017, and dropped 3.4% in contrast to the same period in 2017.
Commenting on the financial results, RAKBANK CEO, Peter England, said, “We have continued our efforts in the first quarter to strengthen and diversify our balance sheet and this is paying dividends in terms of lower provisions. After peaking by the end of 2016, provisions have continued their downward trajectory, reducing by 1.0% when compared with the fourth quarter of 2017 and 17.4% from the first quarter of 2017. Top line income has largely stabilised as the decline during 2017 in terms of net interest income has halted and we should see a steady growth throughout the year.”
England added, “Besides the financial performance, RAKBANK has participated in several initiatives throughout the first quarter of 2018. One of the Bank’s endeavours was hosting the launch of Metals Focus Gold 2018 Annual Report at our Headquarters. This momentous event was a statement of intent for RAKBANK to roll out its RAKGOLD initiative that will contribute to the future development of the region’s bullion market. Moreover, in line with its strategy of assisting businesses in the UAE, the Bankpartnered with Etisalat through their ‘Hello Business Hub’, which is a one-stop location that enables small and medium businesses and start-ups to set up their operations in the UAE. In addition, the Bank is continuously committed to strengthen its DigitalBanking services to customers where it partnered up with FEWA and SEWA to make a tedious task such as paying bills seamless via all its diverse touch points.”
Furthermore, the Bank’s net interest income and net income from Islamic financing increased by 1.1% compared to same period last year. Likewise, non-interest income was down by AED39.4 million to AED 243.9 million mainly due to a decrease of AED29.1 million in investment income and AED14.3 million in net fees and commission income. The Total Assets rose by 14.6% to AED49.1 billion compared to 31 March 2017. This was mainly due to the increase in Gross Loans and Advances, which grew by 10.3% year-on-year from the strength of the Wholesale Banking, Business Banking and Personal Banking Loans. Customer deposits grew by 11.9% to AED33.3 billion compared to the 31 March 2017 and this was mainly due from the rise of AED3.1 billion in time deposits.
The Bank’s total capital adequacy ratio as per Basel III stood at 18.64% compared to 20.69% at the end of the previous year. The Common Equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 17.47%. This level of capital provides the Bank with ample room for growth in 2018. The regulatory eligible liquid asset ratio at the end of the quarter was 13.6% compared to 15.0% at the end of 2017. The advances to stable resources ratio and stood comfortably at 88.0% compared to 87.8% at the end of 2017.

CBD launches positive pay solutions
Dubai / WAM

The Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), announced the launch of ‘Positive Pay’, one of its newest digital product offerings to ensure the protection of its corporate clients from cheque frauds.
Speaking about the new protection, Dr. Bernd van Linder, Chief Executive Officer of CBD, said, “As reported, payment frauds are one of the main concerns we witness today. Fraudulent cheques top the list for the corporations in the UAE.”
We are pleased to launch Positive Pay solutions for our corporate clients, to protect them from any cheque frauds. CBD’s Positive Pay solution is an answer to eliminate cheque frauds completely, as the workflow at the time of processing automatically detects fraudulent cheques, eliminating any chances of being processed.
“Positive Pay solution is CBD’s latest enhancement to its remote cheque printing solution, which allows corporations to protect themselves from any cheque frauds and have full control over their operations. Cheque payments form a large part of payments in the UAE, and through this solution we hope to support and demonstrate our commitment to our corporate clients,” said Hassan Al Redha, General Manager – Institutional and Transaction Banking.
The implementation of Positive Pay allows CBD to benefit from a full audit trail that captures metadata elements for in-depth research, providing better visibility into account holder data. Additionally, clients can pull reports using a variety of comprehensive fields to access audit trail data.