ABU DHABI: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the United Arab Emirates’ largest lender, reported on Wednesday a 24% rise in nine-month net profit, driven by higher revenue across its businesses and lower impairment charges, putting it on track to meet its full-year guidance.
Net profit after tax for the first nine months of 2025 reached 16.02 billion dirhams ($4.36 billion), up from 12.87 billion a year earlier, the bank said in an earnings presentation.
Group revenue climbed 16% to 27.65 billion dirhams, supported by a 37% surge in non-interest income, which includes fees, commissions, and foreign exchange earnings.
“FAB delivered a record performance in the first nine months of 2025, reflecting strong underlying operating performance,” the bank said, highlighting a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of 20%.
The results underscore the strength of the UAE’s banking sector, benefiting from a robust domestic economy and regional expansion. FAB’s performance was buoyed by diversified growth across its investment banking, wholesale, and consumer banking divisions.
The bank’s balance sheet expanded significantly, with total assets growing 14% since the start of the year to 1.38 trillion dirhams. Loans and advances grew 13% year-to-date, while customer deposits increased 9%.
Asset quality continued to improve, with the non-performing loan ratio falling to a record low of 2.6% from 3.8% a year ago. The cost of risk, a measure of provisioning for bad loans, dropped to 55 basis points from 72 basis points.
Looking ahead, FAB said it was “well on track” with its 2025 financial targets, which include low double-digit loan growth, a cost of risk below 75 basis points, and an RoTE above 16%.
For the third quarter alone, net profit was 5.39 billion dirhams, up 21% from the same period a year earlier, though it dipped 2% from the previous quarter, which had benefited from non-recurring real estate gains.
The bank also highlighted its accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence, with 18 “live AI agents” in operation that it said have doubled processing capacity and reduced turnaround times by up to 50%.
FAB’s capital position remained strong, with a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 13.7%, comfortably above regulatory requirements.
($1 = 3.6725 UAE dirham)