CBI profit falls 38% as provisions rise

Commercial Bank International (CBI) on Monday reported a 2011 second-quarter net profit of Dh23.86 million, down 38.65 per cent compared with Dh38.84 million reported in the same period last year. While the bank reported a 13 per cent increase in net interest income to Dh94.9 million from Dh84 million reported in the second quarter of 2010, net fee and commission income declined 34.6 per cent from Dh39.81 million in the second quarter of 2010 to Dh26 million in second quarter of this year. A sharp decline in fee and commission income combined with a 42 per cent increase in provisions resulted in lower profits for the second quarter of this year. For the first six months of the year, the bank\'s net profits were down 21 per cent at Dh55.7 million compared with the first half of last year. The bank\'s total assets as on June 30 stood at Dh11.95 billion compared to Dh11.92 billion at the end of December 2010. Article continues below For the first six months of the year, CBI\'s loans and advances declined 6.4 per cent to 7.77 billion. Ample liquidity \"We maintained our conservative stance with regard to our loan growth during the first half and focused on maintaining a healthy balance sheet. The balance sheet is now optimised with ample liquidity, low leverage and comfortable capital position to take advantage of targeted future growth opportunities,\" said Mohammad Sultan Al Qadi, chairman of CBI.