ABU DHABI, 28th July, 2022 (WAM) — First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) today announced that the Group’s net profit amounted to AED8 billion in the first six months of 2022, an increase of 50% compared to the same period last year.
In a statement on Thursday, the bank said that the total income was AED12.5 billion, up 31% year-on-year (YoY), including an AED3.1 billion net gain on the sale of a majority stake in Magnati.
Hana Al Rostamani, Group Chief Executive Officer of FAB, said, “FAB delivered a strong performance in the first six months of 2022 with a 50% increase in net profit compared to the same period in 2021. Despite heightened global market volatility, our core businesses maintained solid growth momentum reflecting healthy pipeline execution across our diversified franchise and our ongoing strategic focus on deepening client relationships.”
“Almost AED50 billion net incremental lending was extended by FAB year-to-date (ytd), a record for the Group for any half-year period. This demonstrates buoyant regional activity, FAB’s leading origination capabilities, and the fundamental strength of our balance sheet as we continued to deploy our resources and expertise to support our client franchise with their local and cross-border banking needs.”
James Burdett, FAB’s Group Chief Financial Officer, stated, “FAB produced another solid set of results in the second quarter with a net profit of AED2.9 billion, up 13% sequentially on an underlying basis, bringing first half 2022 profit to AED8.0 billion. The annualised return on tangible equity for the first half of 2022 improved to 19.5% from 13.6% in H1’21.
“In the last quarter, all our core businesses delivered top-line growth sequentially, led by a double-digit growth in Investment Banking and Corporate and Commercial Banking, which is a strong result in adverse global market conditions. This was helped by strong volumes, early benefits from rising interest rates, and healthy client activity in Global Markets consistent with our strategy to enhance cross-sell. The risk was prudently managed across the Group, while the YoY growth in operating expenses reflects continued investments in franchise growth and transformation.”
According to the bank’s statement, the impairment charges (net) amounted to AED1.0 billion, 9% lower compared to last year. However, the annualised cost of risk reached 47 basis points.
The operating costs reached AED3.1 billion, up 8% YoY excluding Bank Audi Egypt inclusion, which reflects ongoing investments to drive growth and transformation.
The loans, advances and Islamic financing amounted to AED459 billion, up 6% sequentially and 12% ytd. The customer deposits reached AED648 billion, up 8% sequentially and 5% ytd, while CASA balances stood at AED291 billion, up 15% compared to 2021.
The Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) amounted to 135%, which underlines the strong liquidity position; however, the healthy asset quality metrics with NPL ratio and provision coverage reached 3.6% and 100%, respectively.
The Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) was at 12.6%, comfortably above regulatory requirements.