Emirates NBD’s income surges 12% to AED 23.9 billion on strong loan growth, regional expansion and innovative product offering

7 Min | 24 July 2025

Dubai, 24 July 2025: Emirates NBD’s income surges 12% to AED 23.9 billion on strong loan growth, regional expansion and innovative product offering. Lending increased by AED 41 billion (8%) in the first half of 2025, fuelled by very strong demand both in the UAE and across its growing international network. Deposits grew by AED 70 billion (10%) in the first half of 2025 propelled by a record AED 48 billion increase in low-cost Current and Savings Account balances. Operating profit grew 9% as the strong loan and deposit growth momentum easily absorbed earlier interest rate cuts.

Emirates Islamic delivers a record AED 1.9 billion profit in first half of 2025, highlighting its position as a leading Islamic bank in the UAE. The region’s growing affluent population propelled Assets Under Management to USD 50 billion, confirming Emirates NBD’s successful focus on Wealth Management and new products. Strategic investment in the Group’s regional footprint, digital and GenAI are driving income growth which more than offsets the impact of lower interest rates.

Key Highlights – First Half 2025

Operating profit 9% higher yoy reflecting strong loan & deposit growth momentum and regional expansion
- Income up 12% yoy to AED 23.9 billion on strong volume growth and continued momentum in innovative product offerings
- 8% loan growth in H1-25 of AED 41 billion, with nearly half of the increase coming from international operations
- Deposits grew AED 70 billion in H1-25, including a record AED 48 billion increase in Current and Savings Accounts, reinforcing deposit mix as a key strength of the Group
- Impairment credit of AED 0.3 billion on impressive recoveries as clients benefit from a buoyant regional economy with impaired loan ratio improving to 2.8%
- Emirates Islamic’s continued strong growth momentum reporting a profit of AED 1.9 billion in H1-25

Emirates NBD’s investment in customer focused services & products is propelling business growth
- 35% market share of UAE Credit card spend; over AED 100 billion Credit and Debit card spend in H1-25
- ‘SHARE’ credit card, cobranded with Majid Al Futtaim Group, is Group’s fastest ever card to reach 10,000 in issue
- Emirates NBD one of region’s top banks for Customer Experience with Net Promoter Score of 50
- KSA network expansion driving an impressive 27% loan growth in H1-25
- Excellent AED 92 billion of new lending helped deliver 13% Retail and Corporate loan growth in H1-25
- New Structured Credit, Commodity and Investment products introduced, driving a substantial increase in income from both local and international clients
- ALM Markets desk ranked the number one M-Bill primary dealer by the Central Bank of the UAE for 2024
- Corporate CASA growth backed by best-in-class digital escrow capabilities, APIs and virtual accounts
- Emirates NBD Capital is the number one investment bank for UAE IPOs and MENA Loans, and maintained its Top 3 position for international sukuk
- 93% of new current accounts opened via mobile app or assisted tablet
- Assets Under Management across the Group grew to USD 50 billion, reflecting ongoing success of the Group’s wealth management strategy

Looking to the future, Emirates NBD is transforming into a data-first, digital-focused and environmentally responsible regional powerhouse
- ENBD X launched in KSA, upgrading digital offering in the Kingdom
- Launched crypto trading through Liv X in partnership with Aquanow and Zodia Custody
- More than 750,000 users of WhatsApp banking
- Strategic partnership between Emirates NBD Pay and Visa's Cybersource platform to accelerate advanced digital payment solutions for clients
- Key technological partnerships with Government and GREs to digitise and automate banking services
- Further fintech collaborations with Partior (blockchain payments) and iPID (beneficiary validation)
- Big-data analytics performs deep data mining, expanding new merchant acquiring opportunities
- Over 50 active Advanced Analytics use cases, positioning Emirates NBD as a data-first bank
- Best ESG rating for any bank in the region by S&P Global
- First bank in MENA to publish inaugural ISSB report
- Emirates NBD has the highest number of LEED Platinum certified branches of any bank globally

Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Vice Chairman and Managing Director said:

“Emirates NBD’s income surged 12% to AED 23.9 billion in the first half of 2025 on strong loan growth, regional expansion and an innovative product offering.
Lending grew by an excellent AED 41 billion in the first half of 2025, and we now expect double digit loan growth for the full year as consumer momentum and business confidence continues.
Emirates Islamic’s profit rose to a record AED 1.9 billion, with very strong Customer financing growth of 13% in the first half of 2025, highlighting its position as an Islamic banking powerhouse in the UAE.
The Group commands a 35% market share of UAE credit card spend as we processed more than AED 100 billion credit and debit card spend in the first half of 2025.
We successfully launched the ‘SHARE’ credit card, cobranded with the Majid Al Futtaim Group, which became the Group’s fastest ever card to reach 10,000 in issue.”

Shayne Nelson, Group Chief Executive Officer said:

“Emirates NBD delivered a 9% yoy increase in operating profit, propelled by excellent loan growth and our ability to attract and retain low-cost deposits.
The Group’s ability to substantially grow income is a direct benefit of the strategic investment in our regional footprint, Digital and GenAI, helping to offset the impact of lower interest rates.
Innovative products have successfully harnessed key growth areas, including Private Banking, Wealth Management, Escrow, regional corporate growth and investment banking.
We have worked hard to nurture the UAE’s leading deposit franchise in low-cost Current Accounts and Savings Accounts, which accounted for AED 48 billion of the AED 70 billion growth in deposits in the first half of 2025.
We actively use big-data analytics for deep data mining, expanding new merchant acquiring opportunities and have over 50 active Advanced Analytics use cases, positioning Emirates NBD as a data-first bank.”

Patrick Sullivan, Group Chief Financial Officer said:

“Profit before tax was AED 15.4 billion despite nearly AED 2 billion lower recoveries in the first half of 2025 relative to the very strong recoveries last year.
Profit for the half year of AED 12.5 billion despite the impact of the new higher tax rate.
The continued healthy credit environment and buoyant economy delivered a net impairment credit of AED 0.3 billion, leading to a positive revision on credit metrics.
Healthy capital generation helped support extremely strong loan growth and the rock-solid balance sheet makes Emirates NBD a regional powerhouse, providing the platform for future growth.
The investment in people, network, technology and products is clearly delivering new sources of income.”

Financial Review

Outlook

The non-oil economy of the UAE in H1-25 carried on the momentum from 2024, supported by high levels of project spending from both the public and private sectors and strong levels of private consumption. Property transactions in Dubai were higher compared with 2024 while price growth is moderating. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia extensive government investment is helping to support growth while non-oil activity continues at elevated levels. Oil production is set to increase in both the UAE and KSA, helping to provide another boost to headline GDP. Egypt’s economy is growing as the country’s balance of payments position improves while in Türkiye inflation is easing thanks to a supportive monetary policy.

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