Mashreq sees profit drop 13%

PROFIT DROPS: Mashreq posted third quarter profit of $94.2 million. (ITP Images)

Dubai-based Mashreqbank said on Saturday profit dropped almost 13 percent in the third quarter as the value of regional share prices plunged.

The bank, the UAE's fourth largest by assets, posted Q3 net income of 346 million dirhams ($94.2 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, compared to 395.8 million dirhams for the same period last year.

Mashreq said investment income in the first nine months of the year was 75 million dirhams, down 86 percent from 553 million dirhams for the same period last year. It did not give a quarterly breakdown.

The bank said the decline was "mainly due to the decline in valuations and poor liquidity in the global and regional markets".

Mashreq CEO Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair said in a statement the UAE banking sector remains "resilient" and the lender is pushing ahead with its expansion plans, including opening 12 branches in the UAE and 10 in Egypt next year.

"Mashreq is in a very healthy status. We are committed to our expansion plans locally and regionally," Al-Ghurair said.

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