Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBANK) saw a 44.7% decrease in net profits to AED 306.6 million for the January-June period of 2020, compared to AED 554.9 million in the same period of 2019.

The bank's total assets reached AED 54.3 billion as of June 2020, down by 4.9% from AED 57.2 billion by the end of December 2019, as shown by the bank's interim financial results for the period ended on 30 June.

The bank's net interest income and net income from Islamic financing declined to AED 1.36 billion in the first half (H1) of 2020 from AED 1.38 billion in H1-19.

Meanwhile, the lender's total income retreated by 4.5% to AED 1.9 billion in H1-20 from AED 1.99 billion in the corresponding period of 2020.

The basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) stood at AED 0.18 during the first six months of 2020, against AED 0.33 in the corresponding period of 2019.

Commenting on the bank's performance, the CEO of RAKBANK, Peter England, said: "I would like to highlight that our credit quality at RAKBANK has been stable throughout the first half of 2020 and the current increase in the impairment provisions is largely a precautionary measure taken to protect the Bank from the potential deterioration in credit quality for the impending quarters."

During the first quarter (Q1) of 2020, the bank's net profits plunged by 43.2% to AED 153.5 million from AED 270.2 million in the same period of 2019.