National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the UAE's largest lender by market value, said it will repay the entire amount of Dh5.6 million ($1.5 billion) it had received in emergency funds from the UAE government during the global financial crisis.

The top Abu Dhabi lender is repaying the amount four years ahead of schedule, said a top official.

In line with its plan to complete the repayment on a quarterly basis starting from the third quarter of last year, the Abu Dhabi bank paid back a total of Dh2.6 billion in 2012.

"NBAD will now complete its obligations by repaying the remaining Dh3 billion in equal installments in the first and second quarter of this year (2013)," said Michael H. Tomalin, the Group chief executive of NBAD.

Thanking the UAE Government for its support, Tomalin said NBAD’s repayment of the entire support almost four years ahead of schedule confirmed its robust financial standing and market position.

The UAE's largest lender by market value, NBAD had registered a full-year net profit of Dh4.33 billion in 2012, up 16.8 per cent from Dh3.71 billion the previous year.

The bank is strongly capitalised as its capital adequacy ratios remain strong and well above the minimum required by the UAE Central Bank, with a capital adequacy ratio of 21 per cent and a Tier-I ratio of 17.2 per cent by the end of December 2012.-TradeArabia News Service