Emirates NBD quarterly profit hits Dh1.4 billion

The country's largest bank reports healthy 2008 results on the back of strong retail banking and its stronger position from a merger.

Emirates NBD reported strong second quarter results, which it partially attributed to the successful merger last year that created the banking group. Emirates NBD's profits in the last quarter rose 45 per cent from the same period last year to Dh1.47 billion (US$400 million) as consumer loans continued to grow and the bank's financial muscle helped it win big-ticket financing deals. Rick Pudner, the bank's chief executive, said Emirates NBD had become a "a leader" in forming consortiums for syndicated loans that had financed multibillion-dollar projects. The bank's consumer loans grew 12.6 per cent during the first half of the year to Dh187bn. Consumer deposits grew during the same period to Dh157bn.
Emirates NBD, the UAE's largest bank, is a union of Dubai banks Emirates and National Bank of Dubai (NBD), which merged last year. Although full integration is still months away, the two banks have combined their balance sheet and their stock trades as one. Sanjay Uppal, the bank's chief financial officer, said that having the country's widest branch network helped it to increase deposits. He added that the bank had benefited from the high-end clients who used its wealth management division.