Mashreq Bank today announced its financial results for the first nine months ending 30th September 2017, declaring that the net profit for the said period stood at AED1.7 billion; a 12.0 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Commenting on the announcement, Mashreq's CEO, AbdulAziz Al Ghurair, said, "It has been a period of muted growth for the UAE banking system with the banking sector Gross Credit growing by only 0.3 percent as of August 2017. At Mashreq we have been successful in increasing our loan book by 6 percent year to date. With a focus on cost management that has seen us reduce operating expenses by 1.7 percent year-on-year and a strong 30 percent decline in credit costs, I am delighted to report a 12 percent year-on-year increase in net profits for the first 9 months of the year. Our strong liquidity and capital position has us well placed to capitalise on future growth opportunities."

Al Ghurair concluded the announcement by saying, "In the future, banking will go digital and that is why we are investing significantly to develop new capabilities and evolve new business models. Mashreq Neo, a full service digital bank, is a recent example of our response to the fast evolving needs of today's consumers."

The full report is available at Mashreq Bank web-site.