National Bank of Fujairah posts $13.7m loss

UAE-based National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) has posted a full-year loss of AED50.3 million ($13.7m) for 2008 amid challenging global market conditions.

This represents a sharp drop from the bank’s AED323.8 million ($88m) profit recorded in 2007, with the bank citing provisions and investment losses.

NBF said the value of its investment portfolio decreased by AED250 million ($68m) due to global economic downturn.

“In response to continued uncertainty over macroeconomic conditions in the coming year, the bank has significantly reduced its exposure to market volatility,” NBF’s deputy chairman, HE Easa Saleh Al Gurg, said in a statement.

The bank’s total assets stand at AED12.8 billion ($3.5bn).