Leading UAE banks are reporting strong first-half profits defying the global trend and analysts' expectations. In the beginning of this month Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer, chairman of Emirates NBD - the largest regional bank by assets - said that the UAE banks would report profits in the range of 30 to 45 percent. So far, most leading UAE-based banks have reported profits in this range or more. Banking industry analysts said the UAE banks' relatively low exposure to the US and Western markets and the strong performance of the regional economies supported by the high oil prices are helping them to beat expectations. For the first half of the year, Emirates NBD reported Dh2.68 billion net profit, up 41 percent compared to the combined first-half profits of Emirates Bank International (EBI) and National Bank of Dubai (NBD). “The local economy remains supportive of the growth we are experiencing. We expect the trend to continue,” said Rick Pudner, CEO of Emirates NBD during a teleconference last week. National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) reported net profits of Dhs1.87 billion for the first half of 2008, 58 percent above the first half of 2007. Union National Bank's (UNB) net profit grew to Dh764.6 million in the first half of 2008, up against Dh542.4 million in the corresponding period, registering a growth of 41 percent. “The outstanding first-half results reflect the strong performance of all the bank's businesses,” Michael H. Tomalin, NBAD's chief executive said in a statement. While the bigger banks such as Emirates NBD, NBAD and ADCB have reported strong growth in their wholesale lending, relatively smaller banks have also capitalised on lending opportunities to small and medium enterprises. Rakbank's first-half net profit jumped 71 percent to Dh311.6 billion compared to the same period last year.
