First Abu Dhabi Bank Q3 profit rises 6% as provisions jump 33%

Key Points

1. First Abu Dhabi Bank posted AED 5.74 billion third-quarter net profit, up 6% year on year, Reuters reported.
2. Nine-month impairment charges jumped 33% to AED 3.10 billion, outpacing the 3% rise in nine-month profit.
3. The UAE's largest lender sets the tone for peers reporting on credit costs this season.

The latest:

Net profit at First Abu Dhabi Bank climbed 6% to AED 5.74 billion ($1.56 billion) in the third quarter of 2026, up from AED 5.39 billion a year earlier and broadly flat against the previous quarter, Reuters reported on Thursday 29 October. Group chief executive Hana Al Rostamani said the result reflected sustained growth across the bank’s businesses and the strength of its diversified platform.

Details:

• The headline number: Third-quarter net profit reached AED 5.74 billion, against AED 5.39 billion in the same quarter of 2025, according to Reuters. The figure was little changed from the second quarter, meaning the year-on-year gain came without sequential momentum. The National reported a slightly different quarterly figure of AED 5.73 billion.
• Nine-month performance: Net profit for the first nine months of 2026 rose 3% to AED 16.50 billion, Reuters reported, a slower pace than the quarterly gain. The National put the nine-month figure at AED 16.4 billion. Both readings place profit growth well below the expansion in core lending income.
• The provisions line: Net impairment charges over nine months jumped 33% to AED 3.10 billion, the sharpest move in the results. The National reported quarterly impairments of AED 1 billion against AED 850 million a year earlier, lifting the cost of risk even as revenue lines expanded.
• The bank’s explanation: First Abu Dhabi Bank attributed the higher provisioning to a prudent approach to risk management in a changing environment, according to The National. The bank did not identify specific sectors or exposures behind the increase, nor did it indicate whether the elevated charge is expected to persist into the fourth quarter.
• Interest income: Net interest income rose 11% over the nine months, Reuters reported, remaining the main engine of earnings. The National put third-quarter net interest income at AED 4.8 billion, an increase of nearly 7% year on year — a slower quarterly pace than the nine-month figure implies.
• Fees and commissions: Net fee and commission income reached AED 1.4 billion in the third quarter, up 16% from a year earlier, according to The National. That was the fastest-growing revenue line reported for the quarter, outpacing net interest income and pointing to activity beyond the lending book.
• Balance sheet: Net loans and advances grew 10% over the nine months while deposits rose 5%, Reuters reported, putting loan growth at double the deposit pace. Total assets stood at AED 1.47 trillion, confirming the lender’s position as the largest bank in the UAE by assets.
• The CEO’s framing: Al Rostamani tied the performance to continued growth across the group’s business lines and what she described as the strength of its diversified platform, according to The National. Her statement addressed the revenue side and did not expand on the drivers behind the higher provisioning charge.

Between the lines:

The gap between an 11% rise in net interest income and a 3% rise in nine-month profit is largely absorbed by the 33% increase in impairment charges. With loan growth at 10% running at twice the 5% pace of deposit growth, the direction of credit costs — not revenue — is the variable that will decide whether earnings growth holds.

What’s next

Watch whether rival UAE lenders report a comparable jump in provisioning this reporting season, and whether First Abu Dhabi Bank’s fourth-quarter impairment charge settles back toward the AED 850 million level recorded a year earlier.