Dubai Bank said its annual net profit for the year ending December 31, 2008 hit a record Dh226 million ($62 million) up 7.26 per cent over the previous year despite the global economy crisis.

Announcing record results for the year, Dubai Bank chairman Fadel Al Ali, said the bank's assets grew by 69 per cent to Dh18.5 billion, while deposits posted a 94 per cent growth to reach Dh14.97 billion compared to rthe previous year.

The retail arm of the bank continued to build on its successful performance of past years with its Ijarah and personal finance portfolios growing by 164 per cent and 143 per cent respectively.

The covered card business demonstrated dramatic growth, with a near doubling of its portfolio. Its success in 2008 was also acknowledged with the “Best Islamic Credit Card” award at the Islamic Banking Product Awards in Dubai.

'We are very pleased with Dubai Banks’ performance. The year 2008 has been a difficult one for the global financial services industry, but we have remained firmly on our path of continued growth, achieving healthy profits and phenomenal increases across all our core operations,' said an elated Ali.

'Our success is a reflection of our commitment to excellence and incessant efforts to bring to customers the best in Sharia-compliant financial services.'

'Our further commitment to innovation and service quality, coupled with strong risk management systems and a highly dedicated team of employees are also at the heart of our success. We will continue to use and build on these strengths in the future,' he added.

“The challenges faced by the global market in 2008 also offered us a number of unique opportunities that we have managed to capitalise on effectively,” said Salaam Al Shaksy, CEO of Dubai Bank.

“The corporate customer base continued to expand, while our SME business saw robust growth and made a healthy contribution to the bottom line,” he pointed out.

“In line with our commitment to provide customers with an unmatched level of service quality and achieve the highest standards of excellence, we augmented our distribution channels with a number of new branches and ATM machines across the UAE,' stated Al Shaksy, who was named “Banker of the Year” at the Islamic Banking and Finance Awards 2008.

'Our focus on innovation and creativity was further highlighted when we became the first bank in the region to introduce Mobile Banking. In addition, we signed a number of strategic agreements to support our expansion plans, with the aim of providing new banking outlets for existing and prospective customers.'

“Dubai Bank is ready for the challenges of the year ahead. Our clarity of vision and focus on performance will allow us to capitalize on the opportunities that may emerge,” Al Shaksy added.-TradeArabia News Service