Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, the UAE's third-largest lender, reported a 23 per cent annual increase in its third-quarter net profit on the back of lower impairment charges and higher non-interest income.
Net profit attributable to equity holders of the bank for the three months to the end of September climbed to Dh2.39 billion ($651 million), the lender said on Wednesday in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
Impairment charges fell 36 per cent on annual basis to Dh525 million, while non-interest income rose 49 per cent to Dh1.56 billion and net fees and commission income grew by 42 per cent to Dh866 million.
“The bank’s performance has been characterised by strong loan growth and a notable rise in fee and commission income as well as enhanced efficiencies and credit quality,” ADCB said.
“The credit conditions for both corporate and retail banking have been positive against a backdrop of favourable economic fundamentals in the UAE.”
The latest financial results come as the UAE’s economy continues to grow on the back of a boost from its non-oil sector amid diversification of its economy away from oil.
Last month, the UAE Central Bank raised the country’s economic growth forecast to 4 per cent for this year from a previous estimate of 3.9 per cent amid the expansion of the non-oil sector.
This week, the International Monetary Fund maintained its 2024 projection for the global economy as inflation continues to moderate. The IMF forecasts the global economy to grow by 3.2 per cent in 2024 and in 2025, unchanged from July's estimates.
ADCB reported a 19 per cent increase in its nine-month profit as impairment charges declined 20 per cent and non-interest income rose 32 per cent during the period.
Net loans and advances in the nine-month period to the end of September grew 21 per cent annually to Dh344 billion, while deposits from customers during the period rose 24 per cent to nearly Dh407 billion.
"Despite a higher interest rate environment, the bank attracted a net Dh12 billion of current and savings account deposits" as of end September, ADCB said.
Total assets grew 19 per cent year-on-year to Dh639 billion.
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Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
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