56 per cent growth over same Q1 period last year

Net income rose to AED 228 million; a 21 per cent increase from same period last year

In line with bank's aggressive three-year growth strategy

Dubai, May 1, 2012: Emirates Islamic Bank, one of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the region, announced today that its operating profits rose to AED 138 million at the close of the first quarter of 2012. This is a 56 per cent and 68 per cent growth over Q1 and Q4 2011, respectively. The results see Emirates Islamic Bank deliver its highest operating profit for the past two years.

Total net income rose to AED 228 million for Q1 2012, a 21 per cent increase from the same period one year ago. Likewise, customer accounts grew by 5 per cent during the first quarter of 2012, while assets grew by 13 per cent from year-end, 2011. 

"The first-quarter results represent an extremely positive start to the year for us and we believe are a strong indicator for the remainder," said Jamal Bin Ghalaita, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates Islamic Bank. "These results have proven to be a key milestone on our growth journey. They reflect decisive measures taken in Q4 of last year, which have enabled us to emerge stronger and more profitable, carrying us into the second quarter in great shape." 

Following its change of Board and management in October 2011, Emirates Islamic Bank has embarked on an aggressive three-year growth strategy, which has started to pay off.

The improved operating income of the Islamic finance provider has allowed it to enjoy healthy Q1 net profits of AED 17 million, after conservatively providing for all doubtful accounts. This again marks a key milestone for the bank, when compared to the losses of 20 million suffered in the same period last year, mainly due to credit provisioning.

Emirates Islamic Bank continues to enjoy a healthy capital adequacy ratio of 18 per cent, with cost-to-income ratio greatly improving to 40 per cent. As of March 31, 2012, Emirates Islamic Bank's branch network totaled 33 with a combined ATM and CDM network of 106.

-Ends-

About Emirates Islamic Bank:
Emirates Islamic Bank opened its doors in October 2004 with a mission to provide customers in the UAE with innovative Shari'a-compliant financial solutions.

The Bank offers a wide range of products and services conforming to the highest standards of Islamic finance and all its activities are overseen by a prestigious Shari'a board. 

EIB offers a comprehensive combination of products and services for Retail, Corporate and Investment banking. On the retail side, the bank has an array of products, such as Credit Cards; Manzili&Bina'a Home Finance, Intaleq Car Finance, Ethmar priority banking, Al Reem ladies banking, Emtalik personal finance, SME business.

Emirates Islamic Bank is also very active on the Corporate Banking level, seeking exceptional investment opportunities in the local as well as the regional market.  

To ensure the proximity to our customers, EIB has expanded its network to reach 34 branches as well as more than 100 ATM's throughout the UAE. And to provide customers with the friendliest banking solutions, the bank has developed a wide range of Alternate Banking Channels such as Mobile Banking Service, Internet & Phone banking. With EIB alternate banking channels, customers will be able to perform a wide range of transactions at anytime and from anywhere.

EIB has received numerous accolades such as the prestigious Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashed Business Award and Ethos Award for best Islamic bank for Customer Service in the UAE, also our Manzili Home Finance product was credited as the Best Islamic Home Finance Product from CPI financial. These awards signify the high level of customer satisfaction as well as display the bank's good practices within their banking methods.

For more information, please visit: www.emiratesislamicbank.ae or contact
Hassan Al Khuwaildi
Communications, Group Marketing, Emirates NBD
Tel: 971 4 6093459
Mob: 971 50 7454454
Email: HassanAl@emiratesnbd.com

Parisa Ansarian / Sudha Chandran
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller, Dubai, UAE
Tel: 971-4-4507600, Fax: 971-4-4358040
Email: p.ansarian@asdaa.com  / s.chandran@asdaa.com

© Press Release 2012