Income of Abu Dhabi-based commercial banks up 4.1%

ABU DHABI / WAM

The net income of Abu Dhabi-based commercial banks amounted to AED9 billion during Q2 2017, a growth of 4.1 percent from AED8.64 billion during the corresponding period in 2016.
Net interest income amounted to AED5.268 billion during Q2 of 2017, accounting for 58.5 percent of commercial banks’ net income in the Emirate, according to the Statistics Centre — Abu Dhabi.
“The growth recorded in bank income reflects the resilience of the banking sector as compared to other GCC states despite the global economic slowdown,” said Manal Al Shanti, a banking expert, who corroborated the state banking apparatus’ ability to grow over the coming period and post better rates than those registered by the end of June. Commercial bank investment income grew 14.2 percent from AED920 million in Q1 2016 to AED1.051 billion by the end of Q2 in 2017, while other income streams rose from AED2.26 billion to AED2.73 billion during the same monitored period.
Loan and advance interest rates reached 9.76 percent on personal loans during Q2 of the current year against 9.81 percent in Q2 2016. Commercial loans interest rates hit 7.97 percent, while overdraft interest reached 9.36 percent, 6.95 percent for trust receipts and 17.78 percent for loans and other kinds of advances.
Deposit interest rates for more than one year amounted to 1.07 percent by the end of Q2 2017 against 1.1 percent during the corresponding period 2016. One-year deposit interest stood at 0.78 percent and 0.75 percent for six-month deposit, 0.66 percent for
3-month deposit, 0.54 percent for two-month deposit and 0.35 percent for one-month deposit.

Dirham-denominated deposits at 5-year high
ABU DHABI / WAM

Dirham-denominated deposits at the UAE Central Bank increased to a five-year high of AED497.65bn by the end of July 2017, according to UAE Central Bank figures. The first 7 months of 2017 recorded increase of AED17.1 billion in local currency balance, which is the highest level since 2013.
Market analysts attributed the growth to growing investors’ trust in the local currency comparatively with other currencies in addition to the decent interest return secured for short, medium and long-term deposits. The month of May witnessed the highest activity, recording AED10 billion in local currency deposits, bringing to AED492.2 billion the total local currency balance in UAE banks against AED484.2 billion in April 2017.