Abu Dhabi, UAE:- Arab Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade (Al Masraf) has recently reported its Financial Results for the year ended 31 December 2021.

The Arab Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade (Al Masraf) recorded a net profit of AED132 million in 2021, an increase by 115% compared to a loss in the preceding year.

The Bank’s financial position remains sound with the customers’ deposits increasing by 1% to reach AED16.4 billion as compared to AED 16.2 billion in 2020. Current and saving account balances increased to AED 5.3 billion compared to AED 4.7 billion in 2020, whilst term Deposits were slightly lower at AED 11.1 billion in 2021 from AED 11.6 billion in 2020 as the Bank continued to improve its funding mix.

The Bank's Investments Portfolio increased by 32% to AED3.24 billion in 2021 compared to AED2.45 billion in 2020, mainly due to investments in M-bills. In line with the Bank's focus on asset quality, loans and advances decreased by 5% to AED14.9 billion while total assets reduced by 6% to AED22.5 billion. The level of impairment charges reduced significantly in 2021 to AED 359 million compared to AED 1,377 million in 2020, while enhancing the loan loss coverage. The Balance sheet remains strong with capital adequacy ratios and liquidity metrics being well ahead of the regulatory requirements.

Commenting on the results, Farhat Omar Ben Gdara, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said:

“Against a backdrop of an improving but challenging economic environment, the Bank successfully transitioned from a difficult 2020 to profitability as the Bank maintained its vigil on asset quality leading to an improvement in cost of risk in line with the Bank’s de-risking strategy. These results obviously reflect the careful execution of the transformation strategy led by the Bank’s management team which paved the way for a return to profitable operations”.

He further added: “We look ahead to 2022 with confidence and optimism. The steady return to growth across various sectors of the national economy, and the ongoing application of the Bank’s digital and transformation strategies will provide a strong platform for growth in the future”.

Charles Doghlass, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Al Masraf commented: “As the pandemic induced market conditions continue to be on the mend, we are on an overall basis satisfied with our financial performance for the year 2021. The positive results provide clear evidence of effectiveness of our business model and is a testament to the efforts and the concerted work carried out in dealing with the challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. We look forward to the future and are continuously developing and improving our business model and activities in line with our customer base and sustainable growth strategy.”

Fitch Ratings (Fitch), a global leading credit rating agency has assigned Arab Bank for Investment & Foreign Trade (Al Masraf) a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘A’ with a stable outlook and a short-term IDR of ‘F1’.

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