Lenders in the United Arab Emirates performed relatively well in The Banker’s Top 100 Arab Banks Ranking for 2017. Most aggregate growth indicators remained robust – though far from excellent – in relation to other regional markets. Asset growth was 6.93% over the 2016 review period, while lenders’ aggregate return on assets hit 1.63%. Despite pre-tax profits falling year on year by 2.9%, return on capital was respectable at 13%.
Within these figures some impressive growth stories emerged, with the likes of Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank, among others, outperforming the market average by most metrics. Equally, more challenging business trajectories have been exposed in this year’s ranking as many of the UAE's smaller banks appear to be enduring a tougher time.
