#Dubai's MashreqBank reports quarterly profit slide as impairments surge - Reuters

Dubai's MashreqBank reports quarterly profit slide as impairments surge - Reuters:

Dubai’s Mashreqbank posted a 1.4% decline in fourth-quarter profit on Monday as impairment charges rose 29%, offsetting a double-digit rise in net interest income and income from Islamic financing.

Banks in the United Arab Emirates have reported a sharp spike in bad debt charges in the fourth quarter, as they navigate a sluggish economy and a property downturn in Dubai that has hit contractors.

MashreqBank’s bigger rival Emirates NBD reported a three-fold rise in impairment charges, partly hurt by bad debt charges at its newly acquired Turkish lender. 


Mashreqbank’s fourth-quarter net profit was 308 million dirhams ($84 million), down from 312 million dirhams a year earlier, missing a forecast by analysts at Arqaam Capital who had projected a net profit of 399 million dirhams.