Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank reported a record profit before tax of AED 7.607 billion for the first half of 2026, a 28 per cent increase on the same period a year earlier. Net profit after tax reached AED 6.737 billion, up 34 per cent year-on-year, though the bank noted the comparison is not like-for-like due to a change in the tax rate applied, from 15 per cent in H1 2025 to 9 per cent in H1 2026 following eligibility for the Initial Phase of International Activity Exclusion under the UAE’s domestic minimum top-up tax framework.
The second quarter alone produced a record profit before tax of AED 3.826 billion, up 26 per cent year-on-year, extending ADCB’s run of consecutive quarterly profit growth to 20 periods.
Lending was a primary engine of growth. Net loans to customers climbed AED 42 billion, or 10 per cent, in the first six months of the year to AED 445 billion, while customer deposits rose AED 27 billion, or 5 per cent year-to-date, to AED 527 billion. Total assets reached AED 833 billion, up 16 per cent year-on-year.
Non-interest income grew 22 per cent year-on-year in the first half to AED 4.510 billion, accounting for 38 per cent of operating income. The bank attributed the rise to higher fee and trading income. Overall operating income reached AED 11.981 billion, up 12 per cent year-on-year, while the cost-to-income ratio improved 90 basis points to 26.8 per cent.
Asset quality strengthened. The cost of risk fell to 38 basis points in the first half from 69 basis points a year earlier, and the non-performing loan ratio eased to 1.71 per cent from 1.83 per cent at end-2025. The bank’s CET1 capital ratio stood at 13.66 per cent and its liquidity coverage ratio at 109.5 per cent.
“As a major financial institution at the heart of the UAE economy, we are seeing clear evidence of healthy investment activity and consumer confidence,” said Ala’a Eraiqat, ADCB’s Group Chief Executive Officer, adding that the bank’s pipeline across energy, transport, logistics, infrastructure, tourism and AI remains strong.
CFO Shrikant Bhat pointed to diversified income streams and cost discipline as the pillars of the first-half result. “Consistent growth in operating income combined with continued productivity initiatives and disciplined cost management drove a 90 basis point improvement in the first-half cost-to-income ratio to 26.8 per cent,” he said.
The bank also said it continued to expand AI integration across customer services and internal operations during the quarter, including the launch of a new AI-enabled mobile banking application.
