Emirates NBD Post $2.12 Billion Profit Before Tax

Emirates NBD, one of the biggest banks in the Emirate of Dubai, on Tuesday said that its profit before tax rose 56% to $2.12 billion in Q1-25 as strong lending momentum, an improvement in deposit mix and new products drove an 11% y-o-y increase in its income.

The balance sheet surpassed the $272 billion milestone boosted by impressive loan and deposit growth from a buoyant regional economy. Deposits grew by 5%, driven by a record $7.35 billion increase in low-cost Current and Savings Account balances.

Loans grew $4.9 billion in the first quarter of 2025, with over half of the increase sourced from the growing International network, Emirates NBD said in a disclosure with Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in the morning.

Emirates Islamic’s quarterly profitability crossed the $272 million mark for the first time ever, highlighting its position as a leading Islamic bank in the UAE.

The region’s growing affluent population propelled Assets Under Management (AUM) to $50 billion, affirming the bank’s successful focus on wealth management and new products. Strategic investment in the Group’s regional footprint, Digital and GenAI, were generating income, helping to offset the impact of lower interest rates.

The bank’s total income increased by 5% to $3.24 billion on strong loan growth and improving low-cost funding mix.

Outstanding Performance by All Units

Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, said that Emirates NBD’s profit before tax grew substantially in the first quarter of 2025, driven by strong regional expansion, increased digital adoption, an outperforming funding base and sustained loan recoveries.

All business units achieved an outstanding performance as they delivered higher income y-o-y, he said.

“The Group commands a 35% market share of the UAE Credit card spend, and we processed more than $13.61 billion credit and debit card spend in the first quarter of 2025,” he said.

Emirates NBD Group CEO Shayne Nelson said that Emirates NBD delivered an 11% y-o-y increase in income, propelled by excellent loan growth and our ability to attract and retain low-cost deposits. He said that the Group’s ability to substantially grow income is a direct benefit of the strategic investment in our regional footprint, Digital and GenAI, helping to offset the impact of lower interest rates.

He said that innovative products have successfully harnessed key growth areas, including Private Banking, Wealth Management, Escrow, regional Corporate growth and Investment Banking.

“We continue to develop strategic partnerships to accelerate advanced digital payment solutions for clients and have expanded our collaboration with 3 exciting FinTech companies ranging from blockchain based payments to international beneficiary validation,” he said.

He added: “We actively use big-data analytics for deep data mining, expanding new merchant acquiring opportunities and have over 50 active Advanced Analytics use cases, positioning Emirates NBD as a data-first bank.”

Patrick Sullivan, Group Chief Financial Officer of Emirates NBD, said that profit increased by 56% over the preceding quarter to $1.69 billion in Q1-25 on higher income, lower costs and an impairment credit.

He said that the credit environment remained healthy, and clients continue to benefit from a buoyant economy, leading to a net impairment credit of $136.13 million.

“Retained earnings helped support strong loan growth and the rock-solid balance sheet makes Emirates NBD a regional powerhouse, providing the platform for future growth. The investment in people, network, technology and products is clearly delivering new sources of income,” he added.