Reoriented Dubai Islamic Bank ready for a new phase of balance sheet growth

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has completed a five-year consolidation from 2009 to 2013 and has charted a plan for strong balance sheet growth in 2014-16 period. DIB’s first quarter figures vouch for its growth momentum. While the bank reported a 111 per cent increase in net profit to Dh636.6 million in the first quarter of 2014, the bank’s total assets increased by 6.9 per cent to Dh121.1 billion from the end of 2013. Key themes for this year are to grow both consumer and wholesale banking business achieving return on assets of about 1.7 per cent with a return on equity of 15 to 17 per cent. Improved profitability is targeted through growth in financing book and redeployment of liquidity from low earning assets to higher earning assets.