Dubai Bank says profits in 2007 more than doubled to Dh211m

Dubai Bank said 2007 net profits more than doubled to Dh211 million. The total assets increased by 98 per cent, compared to the year before, from Dh5.5 billion to Dh10.9bn.

Dubai Bank, whose major shareholders are Emaar and Dubai Holding, became a Shariah compliant institution in January last year. The bank’s achievements have seen its share capital triple from Dh500m in 2006 to Dh1.5bn in 2007.

The branch network experienced aggressive expansion during 2007 at locations that are strategically spread across all emirates, taking the tally from five branches in 2006 to 15 branches by end of 2007.

Dubai Bank’s combined portfolio of corporate and retail assets grew by 328 per cent from Dh1.2bn in 2006 to Dh7.7bn in 2007. The total deposits portfolio grew by 73 per cent to Dh7.8bn within the same time frame. Chairman Mohammed Al Shaibani said: “The success of Dubai Bank was guided by the vision and foresight of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and with the unconditional support of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid, Crown Prince of Dubai.”

Last year, the bank enhanced its electronic delivery channels by launching SMS text banking and internet banking services and it attributes its success to the launch of targeted and value-packed products and services to attract both retail and corporate customers.

 

Al Shaibani said: “The bank has witnessed significant progress on all fronts and across various business initiatives within retail, corporate and investment banking.

“Continuous and sustained achievements have not only resulted in strengthened support from the shareholders but also increased the confidence of our valued customers, which is evident in the growth of the bank’s customer base.” The bank has recently won multiple awards, including “Best Islamic Bank in the Middle East” and “Best Islamic Product Provider”, from World Finance based in London.

“Since our conversion to an ethical and Shariah compliant bank, we have witnessed phenomenal growth in our business and in the level of customer satisfaction,” said Chief Executive Abdulaziz Al Muhairi.

“For us, innovation is a continuous process, as we aspire to be the service provider of choice. So far we have honoured this commitment and are dedicated to delighting our customers with consistent introduction of value-packed propositions, creativity and service quality.

The bank claims it has gone from strength to strength without compromising asset quality, citing Fitch Ratings assignment of a Long-Term Issuer Default rating ‘A’ with a Stable Outlook as evidence of this.

In addition to this, the bank has successfully attracted new talent, especially nationals. The national’s percentage has seen an increase from 15 per cent at the end of 2006 to 22 per cent at the end of 2007.