First Abu Dhabi Bank Profit Climbs as Lending Defies Regional Unrest

The bank’s performance highlights a disconnect between the financial sector and the broader regional economy. While shipping and trade disruptions across the Persian Gulf continue to weigh on sectors like tourism and transport, the bank increased net loans by 10% to 679 billion dirhams since the start of the year. Customer deposits similarly grew by 5%, reaching 885 billion dirhams.

For the nine-month period, the lender posted a net profit of 16.46 billion dirhams, with operating income climbing 7% to 29.71 billion dirhams. Asset quality showed signs of resilience, with the nonperforming loan ratio dropping to 2.1% from 2.6% a year prior. Moody’s Ratings maintains an Aa3 long-term deposit rating for the institution, pointing to deep liquidity buffers that insulate the bank against volatility, though analysts caution that the lender’s concentrated portfolio remains sensitive to shifting regional trade conditions.