Ajman Bank expects to beat estimates

Shariah-compliant Ajman Bank will announce better-than-expected results for the full year as it has started building up provisions in line with the UAE Central Bank guidelines, its deputy CEO said.

Ali E Alshqoosh Al Mueen said the bank was financially sound and had substantially increased its customer deposits. The bank will announce the results following the meeting of the Board of Directors today.

"We have started to build up provisions, which are going to be in line with the central bank guidelines," he added without elaborating.

In an interview with Emirates Business, he said there will be more provisions for the banking industry but those banks maintaining high provisions will have good cushions for them going forward.

"The good thing about Ajman Bank is that we don't have a lot of bad debts. We came in a situation when there was crisis, so we were picking the best deals available in the market to get maximum returns on our invested money. Whenever we were lending, we were selecting the best," said Al Mueen.

He said things had improved substantially over the last few months and "we have seen some of the big banks announcing good results. Overall, the banking industry is in a better situation now."

As part of its expansion, the bank will focus on opening two additional branches in Abu Dhabi and one in Dubai. It will open a branch in Ras Al Khaimah next year.

The bank has also tied up with Al Safwa Brokers to offer equity-trading facilities to its customers.

The bank also recently revised downward its profit rate for different segments such as auto loans.

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