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ABU DHABI / WAM
In yet a new sign of the resilient financial fundamentals enjoyed by the UAE banking system, the combined profits of four UAE-based banks listed on Dubai Financial Market (DFM) reached AED13.2 billion in 2018, a growth of 17.5 percent on year.
According to statistics released by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, the total assets of UAE banks hit a record of AED2.85 trillion in November.
In more detail, the profits of the Emirates NBD soared to AED10.04 billion in 2018, up 20 percent from AED8.345 billion in 2017, driven by a significant rise of 13 percent in operating income to AED17.40 billion against AED15.46 billion in 2017 in addition to the fall in allocations of asset depreciation to AED1.748 billion from AED2.228 billion during the same period in 2017.
The net profits of Mashreq Bank increased as well to circa AED2.1 billion from AED2.05 billion in 2017, partly driven by a 17 percent drop in allocations for bad debt and loan los-ses, according to the bank.