Mashreq profit hits Dh1.76b

Dubai - Mashreq remains focused on improving the banking experience.

Mashreq, a leading financial institution, reported on Monday a slight upswing in net profit to Dh1.76 billion for the first nine months. While impairment allowance dropped by 15.9 per cent year on year, Mashreq's best-in-class non-interest income to operating income ratio remained high at 39.3 per cent. 
In a statement, the Dubai-based bank said its liquid assets ratio stood at 32.6 per cent with cash and due from banks at Dh43.6 billion while capital adequacy ratio and Tier 1 capital ratio continued to remain significantly higher than the regulatory limit and stood at 16.8 per cent and 15.6 per cent respectively.
The bank's total assets grew by 5.0 per cent to Dh146.9 billion while loans and advances increased by 4.2 per cent to Dh72.2 billion as compared to December 2018. Customer deposits grew by 1.1 per cent to Dh84.1 billion as loan-to-deposit ratio remained strong at 85.8 per cent.  
The bank said its non-performing loans to gross loans ratio decreased slightly from 3.5 per cent in June to 3.4 per  cent as  total provisions for loans and advances reached Dh4.1 billion, constituting 130.9 per cent coverage for non-performing loans.
Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Mashreq's CEO, said the bank's solid market performance has enabled it to record a healthy net profit of Dh1.8 billion. "Notably, we continue to maintain a healthy balance sheet as well as strong liquidity, with our capital adequacy ratio and tier 1 capital ratios continuing to be significantly higher than the regulatory limit - standing at 16.8 per cent and 15.6 per cent respectively."  
Al Ghurair  said as the bank continued to implement its digital transformation strategy, it remained focused on improving the banking experience for all customers through on-going investments in digitisation and technology. "In particular, the launch of Mashreq's Neo-Biz is the latest example of how the bank is leveraging innovation to offer a seamless experience to our business customers. The initiative is also geared towards supporting the vital SME eco-system, which has historically been the backbone of the UAE economy," said Al Ghurair.
"As we approach the last quarter of the year, the bank remains well poised to deliver on the successes exhibited during the first nine months of the year. We will continue to implement on our successful strategy built around providing an excellent customer experience, as well as leveraging the latest technological innovations to offer best in class products and services in line with evolving customer needs," said Al Ghurair.   
Mashreq announced on Monday that Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair has been elected chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank following Abdullah Ahmed Al Ghurair's decision to  step down after serving for 23 years as chairman of the bank.
A bank statement said Abdullah Ahmed would continue to be a board member. "Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank subsequently after accepting his resignation from the CEO position of the bank," it said.
The bank also announced the appointment of Ahmed Mohamed Abdelaal as the new chief executive officer. Abdul Aziz had been the CEO of Mashreq for nearly last 30 years. Under his leadership Mashreq has grown from a small local bank to a leading customer centric financial institution in the region known for its innovative products and services.  The new CEO, Abdelaal has been with the bank for last two years as head of corporate and investment banking group. 
- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com