DUBAI: Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest lender, reported a 40% jump in 2022 net profit to 13 billion dirhams ($3.5 billion) on Thursday, helped by higher interest rates and transaction volumes which boosted overall income. The bank, majority owned by the government of Dubai, made a profit of 3.9 billion dirhams in the fourth quarter, up 94% from a year earlier.

Higher interest rates and increased transaction volumes supported a 36% jump in 2022 total income to 32.5 billion dirhams, boosting profit. Total assets grew 8% to 742 billion dirhams. “We maintained strong income growth momentum, kept a firm control on costs and benefited from writebacks and recoveries, reflecting a healthy regional economy,” Shayne Nelson, group chief executive officer, said.

Although the bank said new corporate lending grew by 50 billion dirhams last year, total gross loans were down 1% to 456 billion dirhams at the end of the fourth quarter, as sovereign lending declined.

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Total deposits grew 10% in 2022 to 503 billion dirhams. Provisions for bad loans were down 12% last year, which the bank said was due to “robust provisioning actions in previous periods”. Emirates NBD proposed a 20% increase in dividend to 60 fils a share on the back of strong financial results.