• Total assets increased 16% yoy to AED 1.40 trillion
  • RoTE at 19.2% remaining firmly above medium-term guidance
  • The Board recommends a cash dividend of 80 fils per share for FY’25, subject to shareholders’ approval

Abu Dhabi: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) the UAE’s global bank and one of the world’s largest and safest financial institutions today announced a record Group net profit of AED 21.11 billion, up 24% yoy, while profit before tax increased 27% yoy to AED 25.20 billion. Operating income rose 16% yoy to AED 36.68 billion, supported by sustained business momentum and growing contributions from non-interest income. Return on Tangible Equity reached 19.2%, remaining firmly above the Group’s medium-term guidance.

His Highness Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of FAB, said: “FAB’s results in 2025 reflect multiple years of consistent progress in building scale, resilience and long-term value, while firmly establishing the Group as a leading franchise. Through disciplined execution, over the years, FAB has expanded its franchise, strengthened profitability, and further reinforced its role as the UAE’s global bank. This progress underscores the Group’s continued support of the country’s economic ambitions through sustained delivery and the ongoing investment in technology and innovation, including artificial intelligence.

Anchored by the strength of the UAE economy, FAB has continued to expand its presence across key international markets, facilitating capital, trade, and investment flows that connect the UAE with global growth corridors and strengthen the country’s position as a leading international, financial, and economic hub.

Looking ahead, FAB will continue to support the UAE’s economic ambitions as a trusted financial institution, leveraging its scale and resilience to enable sustainable growth and long-term value creation.”

Hana Al Rostamani, Group Chief Executive Officer of FAB, said: “FAB concludes 2025 with a strong performance, with Group revenue reaching AED 36.68 billion and net profit of AED 21.11 billion, demonstrating the strength of our franchise and the disciplined execution of our strategy throughout the year. Returns remained resilient at scale, with Return on Tangible Equity firmly above our medium-term guidance at 19.2%, reinforcing FAB’s position among the most profitable AA-rated banks globally.

In recognition of this performance, the Board of Directors has recommended a cash dividend of 80 fils per share for the financial year 2025, representing a total distribution of AED 8.84 billion and the highest cash dividend in FAB’s history.

As the UAE’s Global Bank, FAB continued to strengthen its leadership position locally, supporting key sectors of the UAE economy and deepening client relationships. We leveraged this domestic strength to expand our international franchise, enabling cross-border capital, trade, and investment flows across more than 20 markets. Our diversified franchise has once again recorded broad-based growth, supported by strong client engagement and effective balance sheet deployment.

2025 marked a transformative acceleration in our AI journey, as the scaled deployment of agentic AI and progress at FAB’s AI Innovation Hub translated into measurable improvements in productivity, decision intelligence, and client experience.

We enter 2026 with strong momentum and a focused strategic roadmap. FAB will continue to provide sustainable value for shareholders, support the UAE’s dynamic growth and diversification, and connect clients to opportunities across the world’s most important economic corridors.”

Lars Kramer, Group Chief Financial Officer of FAB, added: “FAB’s financial performance in 2025 reflects the strength and sustainability of the Group’s earnings model. Performance for the year was underpinned by record levels of revenue and net profit, supported by a well-diversified income base, resilient margins, and prudent balance sheet deployment. As a result, returns remained structurally above our medium-term guidance.

The composition of earnings continued to evolve positively, with a higher contribution from non-funded income and steady delivery across business lines and geographies. Asset quality strengthened further over the course of the year with our non-performing loans ratio at a historical low, reflecting conservative underwriting standards and effective risk management across varying market conditions.

Throughout 2025, we maintained a robust capital and liquidity position, supported by organic capital generation and strengthened buffers, including a successful AT1 issuance in the fourth quarter.

As we look ahead, the Group enters 2026 with a strong financial foundation and a clear focus on sustaining disciplined, high-quality performance throughout the next phase of FAB’s growth trajectory.”

FAB’s FY25 performance was driven by disciplined execution across the franchise, sustained client activity, and continued progress in diversifying revenue streams. Strong momentum across core client segments and expanding contributions from strategic trade corridors supported consistent earnings delivery through the year.

Net interest income rose 4% yoy to AED 20.32 billion, driven by double-digit volume growth, while non-interest income increased 36% yoy to AED 16.35 billion, accounting for 45% of Group revenue.

FAB continued to broaden revenue sources through innovative, value-led solutions and deeper cross-sell capabilities. Fees & Commissions advanced 28% yoy driven by sustained momentum in origination and deal execution, while capitalizing on strong trade flows. Additionally, asset management and advisory-related fees emerged as incremental growth drivers.

Stronger client engagement and optimal market positioning within Global Markets drove a 40% yoy increase in FX and Investment income, supported by FX and rates transaction volumes at record highs.

Across the Group’s balance sheet, total assets reached AED 1.40 trillion, up 16% yoy. Loans and advances grew 17% yoy to AED 616 billion as FAB’s market-leading UAE scale and extensive global footprint continue to support growing capital flows across key corridors and priority markets. In parallel, customer deposits increased 7% yoy to AED 841 billion.

In terms of asset quality, FAB’s gross NPL ratio stood at 2.2%, an all-time low for the Group. Capital and liquidity buffers remained comfortably above regulatory requirements, with a CET1 ratio of 13.3% and an LCR of 154% at year-end. FAB continues to maintain one of the strongest combined credit rating profiles in the region (AA- or equivalent).

Key FY’25 Highlights

Consistent execution and strong client engagement driving double-digit revenue growth across the franchise:

  • Investment Banking & Markets revenues surged 16% to AED 11.79 billion, driven by a 29% increase in lending year-on-year, supported by the successful execution of several landmark transactions both in the UAE and overseas. FAB retained top rankings across all MENA IB league tables in 2025, and enabled AED 330 billion in client fundraising via ECM and DCM platforms, up 23%. Global Markets delivered a record performance supported by strong transaction volumes, increased client flow activity and effective cross-selling, capitalising on market volatility.
  • Wholesale Banking revenues increased by 11% to AED 6.40 billion driven by strong origination across several markets including the GCC, the US, and Asia. The business grew market share through deeper client relationships, stronger cross-sell, and increased product penetration, while maintaining leadership in transaction banking with volumes rising at a double-digit rate year-on-year.
  • Personal, Business, Wealth & Privileged Client Banking Group revenues grew 10% to AED 12.65 billion, reflecting higher client activity across key segments. Retail CASA balances rose 16% year-on-year, adding AED 25 billion, while Retail AUMs rose 28% yoy, driven by sustained net inflows and a significant uplift in mandate conversions, reflecting growing client adoption of FAB’s advisory and discretionary propositions. The business also continued to enhance its investment offering through recent partnerships with Amundi, Europe’s leading asset manager, and T. Rowe Price, a leading global asset management firm, broadening client access to world-class solutions.

Enabling cross-border capital and trade flows across FAB’s global network:

  • The international franchise maintained strong momentum, with loans up 35% and deposits up 25% yoy, leveraging FAB’s presence across 20+ global markets.
  • FAB’s international franchise contributed 19% of FY’25 revenue, with higher client activity supporting cross-border capital and trade flows.
  • Regional momentum continued with operations live in Turkey and GIFT City, landmark transactions in Nigeria, and strong progress on French subsidiarisation.

AI deployment at scale enhancing franchise-wide productivity and client experience:

  • Enterprise-wide AI adoption accelerating productivity with Microsoft Copilot rolled out to all employees, supported by a library of 1,000+ Copilot agents.
  • Culture of continuous learning through structured training, AI knowledge-sharing, and the active embedding of AI tools into daily workflows, supported by a growing pool of specialised AI talent.
  • Agentic AI deployed at scale, with FAB actively progressing over 30 Agentic AI use cases across the enterprise, including in trade, payments, customer operations, compliance, and technology engineering, delivering measurable outcomes in terms of productivity, efficiency and client experience.
  • Robust foundation, with over 90% of the bank’s structured data integrated into a modern platform with an agentic AI layer.
  • Deepening ecosystem partnerships and collaboration with leading organizations, accelerating execution and supporting the UAE’s ambitious AI agenda.
  • Strong AI governance institutionalised through a centralised AI Innovation Hub, underpinned by a Group-wide Responsible AI governance framework.

Strong fundamentals and leadership in sustainable finance

  • FAB maintains consistently high credit ratings of AA- or equivalent, reflecting our strong fundamentals and prudent risk profile.
  • FAB was included in the Global 500 brand ranking1 for the first time, following a 21% year-on-year increase in brand value as the Group continues to elevate its presence on a global scale.
  • To date, FAB has facilitated AED 381 billion in sustainable and transition financing, achieving 76% of its AED 500 billion 2030 target in line with our commitment to drive meaningful impact across the financial ecosystem.

Net profit

AED 21.11 billion

+24% yoy

Profit before tax
AED 25.20 billion

+27% yoy

International Assets

AED 419 billion

30% of Group assets

RoTE

19.2%

vs. 16.8% in FY’24

Operating income

AED 36.68 billion

+16% yoy

Total assets

AED 1.40 trillion

+16% yoy

LCR

154%

Dec-24: 142%

CET1 ratio

13.3%

Dec-24: 13.7%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABOUT FIRST ABU DHABI BANK

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi with a global footprint beyond 20 markets, FAB is the finance and trade gateway to the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). With total assets of AED 1.40 trillion (USD 382 billion) as of December-end 2025, FAB is among the world’s largest banking groups. The bank provides financial expertise to its wholesale and retail client franchise across three business units: 1) Investment Banking & Markets, 2) Wholesale Banking, and 3) Personal, Business, Wealth & Privileged Client Banking Group.

FAB is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and rated Aa3/AA-/AA- by Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch, respectively, with a stable outlook. On sustainability, FAB holds an MSCI ESG rating of ‘AA’, and is also ranked among the top 6% of banks globally by Refinitiv’s ESG Scores and ranked the Best diversified bank in MENA by Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating.

For further information, visit: www.bankfab.com

To access our latest disclosures and presentations, please visit www.bankfab.com/en-ae/about-fab/investor-relations

For investor-related queries, please contact FAB Investor Relations team on ir@bankfab.com