Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: Commercial Bank International (CBI) on Thursday reported robust results for 2018 and the fourth quarter of 2018, where profits made headway in both period..

The UAE-based bank’s net profits reached AED 226 million ($61.54 million) from January to December 2018, up 29% from AED 175 million ($47.65 million) in the same period of 2017, it said in a filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

Net operating profits rose 7% to AED 928 million last year, compared to AED 865 million in 2017.

Customers deposits grew to AED 15 billion in 2018 on the back of successful initiatives aimed at bolstering the CBI’s customer experience.

Meanwhile, credit provisions tumbled 30%, reaching AED 156 million in 2018 from AED 224 million in 2017.

Moreover, the CBI’s assets increased by AED 2 billion to end 2018 AED 23 billion.

At the level of the last three months of 2018, the Emirati lender’s earnings jumped 36% year-on-year to AED 83 million, from AED 61 million, the statement indicated.

“Our corporate lending and customer deposits have grown substantially, and our continued focus on asset quality delivered significant improvements in credit provisions. As a result, CBI achieved solid profitability and growth in all target segments and businesses,” CBI chairman Mohammad Sultan Al Qadi stated.

CBI’s operating profits went up 35% to AED 304 million from October to December 2018, compared to AED 225 million in the year-ago period.

“CBI’s strong performance has been primarily driven by strong loan and deposit growth in our target segments,” commented CBI CEO Mark T. Robinson, adding that with these strong results, the CBI has laid strong foundations that would help it continue its robust performance.