By: Mahmoud Gamal
Mubasher: Profits of the majority of banks listed on Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) shrank during the fourth quarter of 2016 due to a growing number of debt provision that resulted from a slowdown in economic activity.
The overall net profit for 12 banks totaled AED 61.96 billion ($1.89 billion) in Q4-16 when compared to AED 8.1 billion ($2.2 billion) in Q4-15, according to Mubasher’s statistics.
The profits included six banks listed on ADX with an overall value of AED 4.2 billion, and six banks listed on DFM with nearly AED 2.76 billion worth profits.
The decline in banks’ profits during the Q4-16 was expected in line with the slowdown in providing loans for the real estate sector, analyst Waddah Al-Taha said.
Raising interest rate may be seen twice or three times during 2017, affecting the banks’ revenues in a negative way during the year, he noted.
Finalizing the merger between NBAD and FGB will be a long-term solution for the majority of the UAE banks that are facing financial problems, Al-Taha noted.
