Dubai – Mubasher: Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) saw 7.3% lower net profits to AED 315.323 million during the first quarter of 2020, compared to AED 340.054 million in the same quarter of 2019.

The decrease in net profits is driven by lower interest rates, weaker business conditions, and the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to the bank's condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the period ended 31 March 2020.

The bank's operating income registered AED 756.517 million during the first three months of 2020, down 2.26% from AED 774.065 million in the same months of 2019.

The lender's total assets increased by 2.1% to AED 89.9 billion as of 31 March 2020, versus AED 88.1 billion as of 31 December 2019.

Meanwhile, the basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) settled at AED 0.11 in the January-March period from AED 0.12 in the year-ago period.

The CEO of the CBD, Bernd van Linder, said: "In accordance with accounting standards, we have prudently increased forecast expected credit losses associated with COVID-19 in anticipation of challenging economic conditions for the remainder of the year."

Noteworthy to mention, in 2019, the bank's net profits hiked by 20.5% year-on-year (YoY) to AED 1.4 billion, compared to AED 1.162 billion in 2018.