The board of directors of Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has recommended an increase in foreign ownership limit in the bank’s share capital from 25 percent to 40 percent, subject to regulatory and corporate approvals.

The bank’s net profit rose 2 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 5.1 billion UAE dirhams ($1.39 billion), while net income gained 13 percent to 9,267 million UAE dirhams.

The cost to income ratio improved to 26.9 percent, compared to 28.3 percent at the end of 2018. Total assets stood at 231.9 billion UAE dirhams, up by 4 percent y-o-y and customer deposits increased to 164.4 billion UAE dirhams, up by 6 percent y-o-y.

The board has also proposed a cash dividend of 35 fils per share.

DIB completed the acquisition of Noor Bank through a share swap deal in January 2020, to become one of the largest Islamic banks in the world. Noor Bank operations will be completely integrated into DIB.

Reuters reported earlier in February that DIB could axe more than half the workforce with a planned 500-plus job cuts at the newly acquired Noor Bank as part of cost cuts across both lenders, citing sources close to the matter.

DIB has more than 9,000 employees, the bank says, while sources said that Noor Bank has between 1,200 and 1,400 full-time staff, Reuters reported.

(Reporting by Gerard Aoun, editing by Seban Scaria)

(gerard.aoun@refinitiv.com)

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Read our full disclaimer policy here.

© ZAWYA 2020