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NBAD sees retail growth of up to 20pc

ABU DHABI — National Bank of Abu Dhabi, or NBAD, expects its retail revenue to increase by up to 20 per cent this year due to higher lending, NBAD said on Tuesday.

Saif Al Shehhi, senior general manager of domestic banking, said interest rates on deposits could edge up by 0.5 per cent in the second half of this year.

Currently, revenues from retail banking accounts for about 20 per cent of the bank’s total revenues, he said.

“Consumer lending has increased by 15 to 20 per cent this year and that will contribute to growth in our retail business. We will see retail’s share up by 5 to 10 per cent this year,” he told reporters at the launch of a new retail service.

The NBAD, nation’s second largest lender by assets, has joined hands with New York-based MoneyGram International allowing easy and quick transfer of money around the clock via short massaging service or SMS. ‘Mobile Money Transfers,’ service will allow Bank’s customers and holders of its pre paid cards to transfer money to 190 countries. Al Shehhi said the service has been launched to cater to the growing remittance business. He said that expatiates remitted between $15-$20 billion in 2009 from the UAE.

“The market has huge potential to continue growing in the coming years, with the expansion in the economy,” he said. He said that according to the World Bank, expatriates in the GCC countries sent $50 billion in the same year. Al Shehhi said NBAD’s lending has increased this year, especially personal loans, mortgages and car loans.

“Liquidity is improving and at individual bank levels we need liquidity, so we may increase interest rate on deposits from 2.5 to 3.0 per cent soon to attract deposits,” he said. The bank also plans to open six new branches before end of 2010 taking the total branches in the UAE to 110, he said. 
—haseeb@khaleejtimes.com
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