Tuesday, Oct 04, 2011
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--The head of Dubai-based Mashreq said Tuesday the worst was over for U.A.E. banks in terms of non-performing loans, and the country's lenders could grow profits by 10% to 15% in 2012.
Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Mashreq's chief executive, warned however that growth will come at a slower pace than pre-2008 levels.
"Banks have to be ready for slow growth," he told a MEED retail banking conference in Dubai.
Al Ghurair also said Mashreq's bottomline will likely expand in 2011, while it may also may issue a bond in the second half of 2012.
Mashreq, as with other domestic banks, in recent years saw its profitability hurt in the wake of a housing crisis in the U.A.E. which led to an increase in loan loss provisions and overall sluggish growth.
The Dubai-based bank, majority-owned by the Al Ghurair family, is one of the larger lenders in the United Arab Emirates with 54 domestic branches and recorded first-half group revenues of 2.16 billion U.A.E. dirhams ($588 million) that was evenly split between the company's retail side and corporate, investment banking operations.
Al Ghurair Tuesday blamed "greed" for the host of lending problems that have plagued the U.A.E. banking sector in recent years.
"Banks are a greedy bunch of people, they love to see numbers go up year after year," he said.
-By Nicolas Parasie, Dow Jones Newswires; +9714 446-1681; nicolas.parasie@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-10-11 0727GMT
