Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) said its first half operating profit rose 12.8 per cent to Dh675 million ($183.7 million) when compared to Dh599 million ($163 million) in the same period last year.

The Bank's net interest income of Dh695 million was 7.3 per cent higher than the same period of last year, said a statement from CBD.

The fees and commissions, investment income and other income for the first half of 2010 were 15.4 per cent over the same period of last year, it stated.

The net profit, after collective and specific provisions for non-performing loans, amounted to Dh513 million as compared to Dh502 million a year earlier, representing a 2.3 per cent growth, the bank said.

CBD reported total assets of Dh37 billion, slightly higher than last year-end. Loans and advances of Dh28.1 billion have registered a marginal drop of 0.9 per cent compared to last December, reflecting the subdued credit environment, while customer deposits of Dh28.1 billion were marginally up by 0.5 per cent when compared to last year end.

Commenting on the results, Peter Baltussen, chief executive officer said, “In the second quarter of 2010 CBD has continued to perform well and the Bank has achieved strong financial returns as evidenced by the high return on average equity of 19.3 per cent, and a 2.8 per cent return on average assets, both ratios among the highest in the country.”

Baltussen pointed out that the Bank’s liquidity position remained strong with an advance to stable resources ratio of 90 per cent.

'CBD’s Tier 1 capital ratio stands at a high 15.4 per cent and it’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR) is solid at 20.41 per cent as per BASEL II (Pillar 1 & 2), substantially surpassing than UAE Central Bank’s minimum requirement of 12 per cent.'

In line with the Bank’s prudent risk management policies, loan impairment charges for the six month period under review reached Dh179 million, he added.-TradeArabia News Service