Emirates NBD income soars 40% amid positive economic momentum

Emirates NBD, Dubai\'s biggest lender, said on Monday that its profits for the first half-year increased by 40.37 percent year on year, amounting to 1.808 billion Dirham ( 493.09 million U.S. dollars), with the lender benefiting from Dubai\'s economic comeback. The net profit for the second quarter was 972 million Dirham ( 265 million dollars), representing a 50 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year. Both interest income and non-interest income increased by 17 percent, Emirates NBD, whose shares are listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), said in an e-mailed statement. In a further indication that the Gulf Arab region\'s second biggest lender (after Qatar National Bank) by assets left the crisis behind, Emirates NBD said it repaid during the last six months 1.3 billion Dirham (354.51 million dollars) of subordinated debt and 7.8 billion Dirham (2.12 billion dollars) to the ministry of finance. The latter was amount Emirates NBD received in 2009 when liquidity in the UAE banking market dried up in the wake of the global financial crisis. The results are a reflection of positive momentum the UAE economy has been witnessing this year. The Dubai economy alone grew 4.7 percent in the second quarter, the government said on Sunday, driven by a surge in trade, tourism and a revived industrial production. Due to the improved macro-economic conditions at home, the bank is on the expansion course again. On June 9, ENBD acquired a 95.2 percent stake in BNP Paribas Egypt. In September last year, ENBD opened a representative office in Beijing and in February this year it introduced Renminbi trading in order to bank on the raising trade ties between the Gulf Arab region and China. Emirates NBD appointed on June 25 former Standard Chartered Middle East chief executive Shayne Nelseon CEO. Nelson, an Australian national, succeeds Rick Pudner who retired after leading ENBD for seven years. Investors reacted positively to the half-year results. ENBD shares gained over 3 percent in early Monday trading at the DFM.