Union National Bank, 50-per cent owned by the Abu Dhabi government, posted a 12.4 per cent fall in third-quarter net profit on Sunday, missing analysts' forecasts because of loan impairments and lower investment income.

The fifth-largest lender on the Abu Dhabi exchange by assets reported a net profit attributable to equity holders of Dh480.59 million ($130.9 million) for the three months to September 30, down from Dh548.68 million a year earlier, a bourse filing showed.

Four analysts polled by Reuters had forecast an average a profit of Dh541.8 million for the quarter.

The bank reported a nine-month net profit of Dh1.66 billion compared with Dh1.57 billion in the comparable period last year.

UNB's net interest income grew to Dh770.3 million in the third quarter versus Dh686.5 million in the prior-year period.

But impairments booked were Dh199.8 million compared to Dh126.9 million. Also, net investment income fell to Dh7.6 million from Dh28 million.

Loans and advances increased to Dh68.6 billion on September 30 from Dh64.1 billion in December last year, while deposits grew to Dh73.2 billion from Dh67.4 billion. - Reuters