ADCB maintains resilience amid pandemic

dubai — Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) on Wednesday said its third-quarter net profit fell three per cent to Dh1.366 billion compared to same period last year.

The bank reported nine-month net profit of Dh2.802 billion compared to Dh4.196 billion in the previous year, down by 33 per cent. Its operating income reached Dh2.991 billion, while noninterest income totalled Dh706 million, with net fee and commission income up 21 per cent, partially offsetting a three per cent sequential decline in net interest income due to lower volumes amid subdued macro-economic conditions.

Group CEO Ala’a Eraiqat said a marked development in recent months has been the popularity of the digital platforms, with the rate of adoption by customers increasing substantially, even as lockdown measures in the UAE were eased.

“Registered users on the bank’s mobile and internet banking increased by 18 per cent over last year to approximately 800,000 customers,” he said. Under the UAE central bank’s Targeted

Economic Support Scheme, it extended a cumulative total of Dh9.962 billion of support to over 67,000 individuals and businesses from inception through to the end of September 2020.

“We are pleased that the bank has received Dh2.24 billion of repayments, resulting in outstanding deferrals reducing to Dh7.7 billion as at September 30, 2020,” he said.

Deepak Khullar, group CFO of ADCB, said third-quarter results reflect this resilience as the loan book has held firm despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The bank has maintained a clear focus on reducing its cost base. This approach has been anchored in a rigorous plan to capture merger synergies, which has been complemented by further efficiency initiatives this year. The cost to income ratio, excluding integration costs, has improved 335 basis points year on year to 34.3 per cent for the nine-month period,” he said.

Khullar added that the bank continues to take a conservative approach to provisioning to reflect the prevailing macro-economic conditions. Gross impairment charges on loans and advances in the third quarter were up 18 per cent sequentially.

Gross impairment charges on loans and advances were Dh913 million in the third quarter, 18 per cent higher sequentially. Net impairment charges were Dh504 million. The bank recorded an additional Dh148 million of impairment charges related to NMC Health Group, Finablr and associated companies in the quarter, bringing the cumulative total to Dh1.379 billion.

The bank has maintained a clear focus on reducing its cost base. This approach has been anchored in a rigorous plan to capture merger synergies

Deepak Khullar, group CFO of ADCB