Emirates NBD Records 67% Profit Surge in Q1 2024

Emirates NBD’s profit surged 67% to a record AED 6.7 billion in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter and up a strong 12% y-o-y, propelled by regional growth, increased transaction volumes, a low-cost funding base and substantial impaired loan recoveries.

Emirates NBD Group's asset base exceeded AED 900 billion, driven by strong retail and corporate lending, including landmark deals across the region. Branch presence in Saudi Arabia doubled to 18, while the Egyptian franchise was refreshed, enhancing international footprint and digital capabilities. Market-leading deposit franchise grew by AED 26 billion in the first quarter, primarily from low-cost Current and Savings Accounts. Credit quality improved significantly, with an impairment credit due to regularized payments. All business units performed exceptionally, boosting capital ratios and reinforcing Emirates NBD as a regional powerhouse poised for future growth.

Key Highlights – First Quarter 2024

- 67% surge in profit q-o-q on significant balance sheet growth, a stable low-cost funding base, increased transaction volumes and substantial recoveries

- Total income up 3% q-o-q to AED 10.7 billion on excellent deposit mix, solid loan growth and strong fee & commission growth across all business segments

- 5% asset growth as balance sheet surpasses AED 900 billion milestone

- Solid loan growth, up 2.3% in the first quarter on record AED 9 billion Retail financing with Corporate gross lending up AED 24 billion as landmark deals across the region were successfully closed

- Deposit mix is a key strength growing AED 26 billion in the first quarter, including a remarkable

AED 21 billion of low-cost Current and Savings Accounts

- Net interest margin remains very strong at 3.52%

- Impairment credit of AED 0.9 billion on regularisation of loan payments as clients benefit from a buoyant economy with impaired loan ratio improving to 4.4%

- Earnings per share up significantly to 104 fils from 93 fils in the first quarter of 2023


Emirates NBD’s investment in customer focused services & products is propelling business growth

- AUMs grew by an impressive 37% y-o-y, reflecting early success of our ongoing wealth management strategy

- AED 500 million of competitive financing allocated to SMEs to support 'Dubai International Growth Initiative', facilitating Dubai based SMEs’ global expansion

- Extended inward cut-off time for USD payments from 6:30pm to 10pm – collected more than

USD 33 billion through 100,000+ transactions in extended hours

- Aviation Desk established to facilitate Aviation Financing across the region

- First Synthetic USD Structured Investment successfully concluded, providing client with yield-enhancing investment opportunity

- Enhancing transport infrastructure through innovative AED 735 million Green Term Loan Facility

- Advanced analytics data-mining project well established with 24 live use cases, improving customer service and monetising Emirates NBD’s 20-million daily customer data points

- smartGUARANTEES solution provided to Corporate customers utilising Robotics to automatically read inward text and process guarantee, completely eliminating paper usage and making process easier, faster & more accurate


Looking to the future, Emirates NBD is transforming into a data-first, digital-focused and environmentally responsible regional powerhouse

- 20-year presence in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with branch network doubling to 18 in last year driving 19% loan growth in Q1-24

- Emirates Islamic celebrates 20-years of providing innovative Sharia’h compliant banking, serving over 650,000 customers as it delivered a record profit of AED 811 million in Q1-24

- Emirates NBD Capital (‘EmCap’) Top-3 league table position in International Sukuk and Top-5 in CEEMEA USD Public Bonds & Sukuk in Q1-24, raising capital for regional customers

- Generative AI implementation across business operations in partnership with Microsoft

- Leading GCC bank in ESG ranked by Sustainalytics and rated 5 out of 311 diversified banks globally

- ESG Report 2023 published in Q1-24 reinforcing our commitment to transparency in ESG reporting

- Global SustainTech Accelerator Programme launched, empowering Green FinTech companies to develop innovative solutions and support a climate-resilient future

- Carbon future contract trading facility launched, giving clients access to this rapidly growing asset class and align with the UAE’s Net Zero action plan


Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, announced Emirates NBD's record profit surge of 67% to AED 6.7 billion in Q1-24, driven by regional growth, increased transaction volumes, low-cost funding, and substantial impaired loan recoveries. He celebrated Emirates Islamic's 20th anniversary, noting its record profit of AED 811 million in the same quarter, serving over 650,000 customers. In support of Dubai's International Growth Initiative, AED 500 million in competitively priced financing is allocated to Dubai-based SMEs for global expansion.

Emirates NBD Group achieved significant milestones in Q1 2024, with a 5% asset base growth surpassing AED 900 billion. Branches in Saudi Arabia doubled to 18, contributing to 19% loan growth. Retail Banking extended AED 9 billion of financing, while Corporate lent AED 24 billion, closing landmark deals. The deposit franchise increased by AED 26 billion, notably in low-cost accounts. Leading IT architecture facilitated onboarding UAE customers onto mobile banking apps. Quarterly profit reached AED 6.7 billion, benefiting from higher income and a healthy credit environment, reinforcing Emirates NBD's regional dominance for future growth.

Business Performance

- Retail Banking and Wealth Management (RBWM) had an excellent first quarter with the highest ever revenue, strongest ever loan acquisition and a substantial growth in balance sheet

- Lending increased by a record AED 9 billion in first three months of 2024, with loan origination up 40 % y-o-y

- Strongest ever quarterly Deposit growth of AED 17 billion with a healthy CASA to Deposits ratio of 76%

- One-third market share of UAE Credit Card spend as card spend grew 16% y-o-y

- Income grew 15% y-o-y as RBWM delivered its highest ever quarterly funded & non-funded income

- ‘ENBD X’ & ‘EI +’ mobile banking app successfully rolled out in the UAE with all RBWM customers being onboarded on the new app

- AUMs grew by an impressive 37% y-o-y, reflecting early success of our ongoing wealth management strategy

Corporate and Institutional Banking delivered strong results with profit before tax up 44% mainly due to higher income and higher recoveries

- Net Interest Income remained flat with a significant AED 24 billion in gross lending and impressive growth in low-cost deposits, helping offset Sovereign and other scheduled repayments

- Continued CASA growth was backed by the Group’s best-in-class digital escrow capabilities, including APIs and virtual accounts

- Non-funded income grew on higher Capital Market Activity, increased cross-sell across all products including Foreign Exchange and Derivatives and higher fee income on increased lending

- Higher International revenues across locations on capitalisation of network opportunities

- Healthy impairment reversals due to continued recoveries and improved lending credit quality

Global Markets and Treasury delivered another solid performance, generating AED 618 million of income in the first quarter

 - Net Interest Income is strong at AED 666 million and lower than Q1-23 due to the y-o-y increase in the cost of wholesale funding and term deposits

- Trading desk income was lower due to volatility associated with the Egyptian currency devaluation

- Sales delivered strong income growth, driven by new innovative structured solutions for clients

- Product offering enhanced with Carbon future contract trading facility and first green repo executed

DenizBank delivered an impressive AED 0.5 billion profit in Q1-24 providing fresh funding to the Turkish economy as their balance sheet grew to AED 150 billion

News Source: Dubai Media Office