Mashreq's assets up 11%, profit jumps to Dh2.1b

Mashreq Bank registered a net profit of Dh 2.1 billion in 2019 as total assets grew by 11.8 per cent to Dh159.4 billion. The bank said in a statement on Monday that its liquid assets ratio stood at 32.6 per cent with cash and due from banks at Dh47.5 billion.? "Capital adequacy ratio and Tier 1 capital ratio continue to be significantly higher than the regulatory limit and stood at 16.3 per cent and 15.1 per cent respectively," the bank said.
Mashreq's CEO, Ahmed Abdelaal, said the healthy net profit was achieved while maintaining a capital adequacy ratio and a Tier 1 capital ratio that was significantly higher than the regulatory limit at 16.3 per cent and 15.2 per cent, respectively. "All of our businesses performed well and our total assets grew by 11.8 per cent to Dh159.4 billion, while loans and advances increased by 10 per cent over December 2018 to reach Dh76.2 billion."
The bank's non-performing loans to gross loans ratio stood at 3.6 per cent while total provisions for loans and advances reached Dh4.0 billion, constituting 116.8 per cent coverage for non-performing loans. Customer deposits grew by 9.3 per cent during the year to reach Dh91.0 billion while loan-to-deposit ratio remained strong at 83.7 per cent, the statement said.
"The added value that we can bring to our clients through innovation and technology is paramount to us and will remain the cornerstone of our strategy and the center of any transformation program that we conduct now or in the future," Abdelaal said.
As the bank enters 2020 the evolving needs of customers is always the primary consideration whenever the bank rolls out new initiatives, he said. "Therefore digitization continues to remain at the heart of our strategy. In the end, the goal is to provide outstanding customer experience, and I am delighted to say that we are well on track to deliver on that promise in the future also," Abdelaal said. - issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com