UAE Banks Q3: ADCB Lifts Nine-Month Profit 27 Percent as RAKBANK and Bank of Sharjah Grow
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) earned 10.296 billion dirhams after tax in the first nine months of 2026. That is 27 percent more than a year earlier. Two other UAE lenders reported on 22 October. RAKBANK lifted nine-month profit after tax 21.3 percent to 2.523 billion dirhams. Bank of Sharjah raised net profit 28.5 percent to 558 million dirhams.
All three ran cost-to-income ratios below 31 percent, on our count. Emirates NBD and Commercial Bank of Dubai released their nine-month results before them.
ADCB: lower credit costs and fee growth lift profit
Pre-tax profit rose 28 percent to 11.670 billion dirhams. Third-quarter pre-tax profit reached 4.063 billion dirhams, the bank’s 21st consecutive quarter of growth. Net profit for the quarter rose 15 percent to 3.559 billion dirhams. That was 5.4 percent above the second quarter’s 3.376 billion, on our calculation.
The biggest swing came from credit costs. The impairment charge fell 44 percent to 1.646 billion dirhams, from 2.920 billion. That saving came to 1.274 billion dirhams, on our calculation. It equals 49.7 percent of the 2.562 billion rise in pre-tax profit, on our calculation. Operating profit before impairments rose 11 percent to 13.300 billion dirhams. Its 1.283 billion rise supplied almost all of the rest, on our calculation.
Income is shifting toward fees and trading. Non-interest income rose 21 percent to 6.964 billion dirhams. It made up 38.0 percent of operating income, against 34.7 percent a year earlier. The bank credits double-digit growth in fee and trading income. Net interest and Islamic financing income grew 4 percent to 11.342 billion.
Costs grew more slowly than income. Operating expenses rose 9 percent to 5.006 billion dirhams, and the cost-to-income ratio improved 40 basis points to 27.3 percent. Tax rose faster than profit. The charge climbed 37 percent to 1.374 billion dirhams. That is an effective rate of 11.8 percent, against 11.0 percent a year earlier, on our calculation. It is why net profit grew 1.1 points slower than pre-tax profit, on our calculation.
ADCB: pre-tax profit up 28 percent in nine months
| Measure (AED million) | 9M 2026 | 9M 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating income | 18,306 | 16,616 | 10% |
| Non-interest income | 6,964 | 5,761 | 21% |
| Impairment charge | 1,646 | 2,920 | (44%) |
| Profit before tax | 11,670 | 9,108 | 28% |
| Net profit after tax | 10,296 | 8,104 | 27% |
Source: ADCB earnings release and management discussion, 22 October 2026. Changes as printed by the bank.
The balance sheet grew fast. Total assets reached 890 billion dirhams, up 20 percent on the year. Net loans rose 16 percent since December to 468.987 billion dirhams. The bank added 65.956 billion dirhams of net loans in nine months, on our calculation, and 24.391 billion of that came in the third quarter alone. Customer deposits rose 12 percent since December to 558.155 billion dirhams. The loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 84.0 percent, against 82.6 percent a year earlier.
Asset quality improved. The non-performing loan ratio fell to 1.60 percent from 1.86 percent a year earlier, a record low according to the bank. The cost of risk fell to 36 basis points from 73. Group Chief Financial Officer Deepak Khullar said ADCB has lowered its cost of risk guidance for 2026 to below 50 basis points, from below 60. The CET1 capital ratio rose to 13.79 percent from 12.70 percent.
Net interest margin narrowed to 2.22 percent from 2.47 percent. The bank put that down to lower rates earlier in the year and a funding mix with more term deposits. The risk-adjusted margin rose to 1.89 percent from 1.78 percent.
Nine months of profit already equal 90.0 percent of the 11.445 billion dirhams ADCB earned in all of 2025, on our calculation. Group Chief Executive Officer Ala’a Eraiqat said the results reflect the bank’s market position and disciplined execution of its strategy. Under its five-year strategy, ADCB aims to double net profit to 20 billion dirhams.
RAKBANK: merchant acquiring sale lifts nine-month profit
A year earlier, RAKBANK’s nine-month profit after tax was 2.080 billion dirhams. Operating income grew 14.7 percent to 4.466 billion dirhams. The third quarter alone brought 811 million dirhams of profit after tax, 14.7 percent more than a year earlier.
Non-interest income did most of the work. It rose 41.4 percent to 1.655 billion dirhams, on foreign exchange volumes, fees and the sale of the merchant acquiring business. That sale brought a gain of 473 million dirhams. Without the gain, non-interest income would have been 1.182 billion dirhams, on our calculation. That is 1.0 percent above last year’s 1.170 billion, on our calculation. The adjusted figure is our own arithmetic, not an audited number or one the bank reports. Non-interest income made up 37.0 percent of total income, against 30.0 percent a year earlier.
Net interest income rose 3.2 percent to 2.811 billion dirhams. Costs barely moved. Operating expenses rose 2.8 percent, and the cost-to-income ratio improved to 30.8 percent from 34.4 percent. The third quarter also had help from credit: a net impairment release of 11 million dirhams, against a 98 million charge a year earlier. That 109 million swing covers almost all of the 113 million rise in quarterly pre-tax profit, on our calculation.
RAKBANK: profit after tax up 21.3 percent in nine months
| Measure (AED million) | 9M 2026 | 9M 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating income | 4,466 | 3,895 | 14.7% |
| Non-interest income | 1,655 | 1,170 | 41.4% |
| Operating expenses | 1,377 | 1,340 | 2.8% |
| Profit before tax | 2,770 | 2,284 | 21.3% |
| Profit after tax | 2,523 | 2,080 | 21.3% |
Source: RAKBANK financial results release, 22 October 2026. The 9M 2026 figures include a 473 million dirham gain on the sale of the merchant acquiring business.
Assets, loans and deposits each grew more than 20 percent, on our count. Total assets rose 20.8 percent to 120.2 billion dirhams. Gross loans led, up 22.9 percent at 66.2 billion. Deposits reached 79.6 billion, 21.3 percent higher. Gross loans equalled 83.2 percent of deposits, against 82.2 percent a year earlier, on our calculation. Current and savings account balances rose 11 percent to 48.3 billion dirhams.
Returns stayed high. Return on equity rose to 23.3 percent from 22.1 percent. The impaired loans ratio improved to 1.7 percent from 2.0 percent. Net interest margin was 3.8 percent, against 4.3 percent a year earlier. The bank said the margin stabilized at that level in a more competitive funding environment. Capital adequacy stood at 18.4 percent, against 19.6 percent a year earlier.
Group Chief Executive Officer Raheel Ahmed credited growth across the core businesses, the breadth and diversity of its earnings and disciplined execution. He also pointed to the resilience of the UAE economy. The bank said Moody’s affirmed its Baa1 rating with a stable outlook.
Bank of Sharjah: net interest income rises 39.5 percent
Bank of Sharjah earned 558 million dirhams in the nine months to 30 September, up from 435 million, the bank said in a release carried by WAM. Net operating income rose 22.7 percent to 851 million dirhams. Net interest income grew 39.5 percent to 717 million.
Net interest income made up 84.3 percent of net operating income, on our calculation. Net profit came to 65.6 percent of net operating income, on our calculation. The cost-to-income ratio was 28.8 percent.
In its first-half report, the bank posted a record 211 million dirhams of net profit for the second quarter and 362 million for the first half. That leaves 196 million dirhams for the third quarter, on our calculation.
Bank of Sharjah: net profit up 28.5 percent in nine months
| Measure | 9M 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Net profit (AED million) | 558 | 28.5% |
| Net operating income (AED million) | 851 | 22.7% |
| Net interest income (AED million) | 717 | 39.5% |
| Net loans and advances (AED billion) | 37.7 | 24% |
| Customer deposits (AED billion) | 34 | 7.8% |
Source: Bank of Sharjah results for the nine months ended 30 September 2026, as carried by WAM on 22 October 2026. Income changes are year on year; loan and deposit changes are against December 2025.
Net loans and advances reached 37.7 billion dirhams. That is 7.3 billion more than the 30.4 billion at the end of 2025, on our calculation. Since December, total assets rose 13.5 percent to 54.9 billion dirhams. Deposits grew 7.8 percent over the same span to 34 billion. The total capital ratio rose 190 basis points to 18.9 percent.
Chairman Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud Al Qasimi credited the resilience of the bank’s business model and disciplined execution of its strategy. Chief Executive Mohamed Khadiri pointed to business growth, diversified revenue and improved asset quality. He called the results the product of “three years of consistent and rigorous execution” of the bank’s transformation plan.
Why it matters: Three UAE banks of very different sizes all grew nine-month profit by more than 21 percent, on our count. Each got there a different way. At ADCB, lower impairments supplied 49.7 percent of the rise in pre-tax profit, on our calculation. At RAKBANK, the 473 million dirham sale gain equals 97.3 percent of the 486 million rise in pre-tax profit, on our calculation. Bank of Sharjah’s net interest income grew 39.5 percent. With capital ratios between 16.54 and 18.9 percent, all three have room to keep lending, on our reading.
Outlook: ADCB has lowered its cost of risk guidance for 2026 to below 50 basis points and keeps its five-year goal of a 20 billion dirham annual profit. RAKBANK enters the fourth quarter with deposits up 21.3 percent on the year. Bank of Sharjah’s chairman said the bank remains confident in the UAE’s economic prospects. First Abu Dhabi Bank has called a board meeting for 28 October, according to its ADX notice.
Sources: ADCB, RAKBANK, Bank of Sharjah, WAM, ADX, The Edge.
