Emirates Islamic holds its 44th General Assembly Meeting

Dubai: Emirates Islamic (DFM: EIB), a leading Islamic bank in the region, held its forty-fourth General Assembly Meeting at the Emirates NBD Bank Head Office in Deira.

At the General Assembly Meeting, a review of the year ended 31 December, 2019 was presented. Commenting on the bank’s performance, Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Chairman of Emirates Islamic, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Emirates NBD, said, “As the Islamic banking partner of choice for UAE nationals and residents, Emirates Islamic continued to play an instrumental role in driving growth in the Islamic finance sector. We delivered strong results for the year, with net profit of AED 1.061 billion, the highest ever in the bank’s history.”

Emirates Islamic Full Year 2019 Financial Highlights:

• Net profit for the year increased by 15%, reaching AED 1.061 billion.
• Total Income for 2019 increased by 8% to AED 2.7 billion.
• Financing and investing receivables at AED 37.5 billion, increased by 4% from end 2018.
• Customer deposits at AED 45.3 billion, increased by 9% from end of 2018. Current and saving accounts balances represent 63% of total customer deposits.
• Headline financing to deposits ratio at 83%, demonstrates healthy liquidity position.
• Tier 1 capital ratio at 19.5% and capital adequacy ratio at 20.7%.
• Impaired financing ratio is at 7.6% with a strong coverage ratio of 120%.

Hesham Al Qassim added, “Looking ahead to 2020, Emirates Islamic maintains a positive outlook, with Expo 2020 Dubai set to deliver a significant boost to the economy as millions of visitors are expected to join the mega-event. Emirates Islamic will continue to play an instrumental role in contributing to growth and innovation in the Islamic banking sector, working to educate more individuals and institutions in the UAE about the benefits of Islamic banking solutions.” 

The following resolutions were passed at the AGM:

• Review and approval of the Directors’ Report for the year ending 31 December 2019.
• Review and approval of the Auditors’ Report for the year ending 31 December 2019.
• Review and approval of the Internal Shari’a Control Committee for the year ending 31 December 2019.
• Review and approval of the Consolidated Financial Statements of the bank for the year ending 31 December 2019.
• Appointment of Internal Sharia Control Committee members, subject to UAE Central Bank approval.
• Review and approval of the Board of Directors’ remuneration.
• Approval of the Bank’s staff bonus.
• Absolving the Board of Directors from responsibility for the year ending 31 December 2019.
• Absolving the Auditors from responsibility for the year ending 31 December 2019.
• Appointing Deloitte & Touche (M.E.) as Auditors of the bank for the year 2020 and determining their remuneration.

Special Resolutions:

• Approval of the Directors’ Proposals with respect to Shari’a Compliant non-convertible securities to be issued by the Bank subject to obtaining the necessary approvals from the relevant regulatory authorities, as detailed below:
• undertake an update of the EI Sukuk Company Ltd. U.S.$2,500,000,000 trust certificate issuance programme (the "Sukuk Programme") from which the Bank has previously issued sukuks;
• establish any shari'a-compliant funding programme up to a maximum amount of US$ 2,500,000,000 in addition to the Sukuk Programme (the "New Programmes" and, together with the Sukuk Programme, the "Programmes") and undertake any subsequent update of the New Programmes;
• issue shari'a-compliant instruments under any of the Programmes from time to time up to an amount of US$ 2,000,000,000 or its equivalent in other currencies; with the terms of any issuance decided by the relevant committee to which the Board of Directors has delegated such decisions and such issuance to be settled, no later than one year commencing from  the date of the resolution in accordance with the provisions of Article 230 of the Companies Law;
• issue shari'a-compliant instruments on a standalone basis up to a maximum amount of US$ 2,500,000,000 or its equivalent in other currencies; with the terms of any issuance decided by the relevant committee to which the Board of Directors has delegated such decisions and such issuance to be settled, no later than one year commencing from  the date of the resolution in accordance with the provisions of Article 230 of the Companies Law (including, without limitation, through the issuance of sukuk, structured sukuk/trust certificates or other similar shari'a-compliant instruments or, as the case may be, through collateralised arrangements in shari'a-compliant format, as the same may be listed and/or admitted to trading on a stock exchange or any other trading platform and/or unlisted) ("Islamic Funding").

-Ends- 

About Emirates Islamic: 

Emirates Islamic (DFM: EIB), part of Emirates NBD Group, is one of the fastest growing banks in the UAE. Established in 2004 as Emirates Islamic Bank, the bank has established itself as a major player in the highly competitive financial services sector in the UAE.

Emirates Islamic offers a comprehensive range of Shari’a-compliant products and services across the Personal, Business and Corporate banking spectrum with a network of 58 branches and 210 ATMs/CDMs across the UAE. In the fast-growing area of online and mobile banking, the bank is an innovator, being the first Islamic bank in the UAE to launch a mobile banking app and offer Apple Pay, as well as being the first Islamic bank in the world to launch Chat Banking services for customers via WhatsApp.

Emirates Islamic received a number of international and regional awards in 2019, in recognition of its focus on customer excellence, robust performance, and innovation in Islamic banking. The bank was recognised as ‘Best Islamic Bank, UAE’ at the World Finance Awards 2019; ‘Best Islamic Bank’ at the Global Islamic Finance Awards 2019; ‘SME Bank of the Year’ by Enterprise Agility Awards; and ‘Most Innovative Islamic Bank’ by Islamic Finance News magazine. As an Emiratisation champion in the banking sector, Emirates Islamic was the recipient of the 'Human Resources Development' award by Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS).

 Emirates Islamic was also awarded ‘Most Innovative Islamic Retail Bank in the UAE’ and ‘Excellence in Digital Banking’ at the 5th Islamic Retail Banking Awards 2019; ‘Best Retail Bank’ and ‘Best Digital Banking Proposition’ by Islamic Business & Finance Magazine; and ‘Best Banking Product’ (Kunooz) by Global Banking & Finance Review. The Bank was recognised for ‘Most Improved Website’ at the 2018 Service Olympian Awards.

As part of its commitment to the UAE community, the Emirates Islamic Charity Fund provides financial aid to those in need, with a focus on food, shelter, health, education and social welfare contributions.

For further information please visit www.emiratesislamic.ae 

Or please contact:
Amina Al Zarooni
Media Relations Manager, Emirates Islamic
Tel: 971 4 4397430; Mob: 971 56 6405080
Email: AminaAlZarooni@emiratesislamic.ae 

Ibrahim Sowaidan
SVP – Head Group Corporate Affairs
Emirates NBD
Tel: 971 4 6094112; Mob: 971 50 6538937
Email: ibrahims@emiratesnbd.com 

© Press Release 2020