The leading banking group in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) region, Emirates NBD’s profit rose from $1.89 billion in 2020 to $2.5 billion (9.3 billion dirhams) in 2021, a 34 percent rise compared to the earlier period.
The bank announced that it is proposing a 25 percent increase in cash dividend to 50 fils per share while it sees record demand for retail financing.
Emirates NBD also noted that it has the necessary headroom to invest in innovative analytics to make more use of its digital transformation, with full-year revenue rising three percent to $6.47 billion. The bank’s international operations contributed to 38 percent of its revenue in 2021.
The bank’s income for the fourth quarter of 2021 rose 32 percent year-on-year and 13 percent quarter-on-quarter. Expenses were also up two percent year-on-year to $2.17 billion.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum Chairman – Emirates NBD
“Emirates NBD continued financing the real economy and was rewarded as economic growth rebounded, helped by government economic stimulus packages and the successful handling of the pandemic by the country’s wise and visionary leadership”
Mr. Shayne Nelson, Emirates NBD Group CEO stated that the bank’s funding mix has improved as it added $10.34 billion in current and savings accounts during the year.
“We continue to maintain a strict control on expenses and have headroom to invest in advanced analytics, enabling us to leverage further from our digital transformation,” Mr. Nelson added.
Emirates NBD stated in its 2022 outlook that, the UAE enjoyed a strong finish to 2021, with the opening of Expo 2020 Dubai, which was delayed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and rebounding tourism.
“Emirates NBD Research estimates that the non-oil economy grew by 3.5 percent in 2021, and forecasts faster growth of 4.0 percent in 2022. Increased oil production will contribute to headline GDP growth of 4.6 percent for 2022,” the bank added.
