One of the largest local GCC region banking groups reported full-year financial figures, and gave a cautious outlook for the UAE this year in the light of recent oil production cuts.

Revenues at the private banking arm of Middle Eastern financial services group Emirates NBD rose by 7 per cent during 2019 from a year before, while the parent group logged total income of AED22.4 billion ($6.1 billion), up by 29 per cent year-on-year. 

Emirates NBD said it logged a net profit of AED14.5 billion in 2019, a 44 per cent rise on the same level in 2018. The bank said that customer deposits rose by 36 per cent to AED472 billion. The bank had a common equity tier 1 ratio – a standard measure of capital strength used around the world – of 15.3 per cent, with a capital adequacy ratio of 18.5 per cent, well above minimum regulatory standards. 

At the retail banking and wealth management arm, which includes the private bank, income rose by 8 per cent on the year to AED7.971 billion; fee income rose by 5 per cent. Assets under management at the wealth segment rose by 9 per cent in 2019.

The bank warned that the local economic position in the Middle East required caution. Oil production cuts announced by OPEC in December last year will weigh on the United Arab Emirates’ gross domestic product figures this year; GDP growth is likely to moderate in the UAE to 1.6 per cent in 2020, it said. The Expo 2020 event in Dubail will be a boost for the local economy, however, it added.