UAE-based lender Emirates NBD reported a total income of AED 23.2bn ($6.3bn) for FY 2020, up 4% and a net profit of AED 6.97bn ($1.9bn), down 52%. The bank mentioned that profits fell on account of higher provisions and “mainly due to no repeat of the gain on disposal of Network International shares in 2019”. Non-performing Loans (NPL) ratio increased to 6.2% in 4Q2020. They reported an impairment allowance of AED 7.94bn ($2.2bn), up 65% YoY, driven primarily by the impact of Covid-19 and as the acquisition of DenizBank continues to boost coverage levels. Ex-DenizBank impairment allowances were up 40% YoY. For Q4, impairment allowances were lower by 24% YoY and 27% QoQ with proactive ECL (expected credit losses) and stage 3 provisioning in the first three quarters. Also, net Interest margins (NIMs) fell by 24bp to 2.65% due to lower interest rates affecting the loan book. CASA stood at 52% and the loan book grew 1% YoY. They reported liquid assets of AED 100.8bn ($27.4bn), 16% of total liabilities and 22% of total deposits. The chairman noted that net profits were delivered despite the pandemic while the vice-chairman said, “The UAE banking system remains in good health thanks to the proactive measures taken by the UAE Government and the Central Bank of the UAE.”
Emirates NBD’s 6.125% Perp was up 0.2 to 107.5, yielding 4.13%.
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