First Abu Dhabi Bank and four other major UAE lenders posted higher earnings for the first nine months of 2026, while credit growth exceeded deposit growth at several banks, bringing funding mix into focus.
First Abu Dhabi Bank’s net profit increased 3% to AED 16.46 billion. Emirates NBD reported income of AED 42.2 billion, up 15%, and profit before tax of AED 24.3 billion, up 4%. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank’s nine-month profit before tax climbed 28% to AED 11.67 billion, while Mashreq’s profit before tax rose 18% to AED 7.3 billion. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s profit after tax gained 6% to AED 5.6 billion.
For Q3, First Abu Dhabi Bank’s profit before tax advanced 9% year over year to AED 7.01 billion. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank reported profit before tax of AED 4.063 billion, up 28%, while Mashreq’s profit before tax rose 19% to AED 2.5 billion. The banks use different earnings measures, so these results do not form a combined sector total.
Several lenders reported loan growth ahead of deposits. From December 2025 to September 2026, First Abu Dhabi Bank’s loans and advances rose 10% to AED 679 billion, while customer deposits increased 5% to AED 885 billion. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank’s net loans grew 16% year to date, compared with 12% growth in deposits.
Emirates NBD’s gross loans increased 27% year to date to AED 833 billion, while deposits rose 19% to AED 935 billion. Excluding its June 2026 acquisition of RBL Bank, the bank said loan growth was 18% and deposit growth was 12%. Mashreq’s customer loans rose 33% year over year to AED 190.6 billion, against a 27% increase in deposits to AED 237.1 billion. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s customer financing increased 25% to AED 218 billion, while deposits rose 17% to AED 259 billion; current and savings accounts made up 60% of deposits.
Mashreq’s Q3 loans increased AED 21.5 billion, compared with a AED 9.9 billion rise in deposits. The bank cited proceeds from a USD 500 million senior bond and repurchase agreements among the funding sources for its Q3 lending. It also attributed AED 482 million of its year-over-year nine-month profit-before-tax increase to impairment movements. Mashreq recorded a net release of AED 116 million in 9M 2026, compared with a AED 366 million charge in 9M 2025.
Margins moved in opposite directions at two lenders. First Abu Dhabi Bank’s Q3 net interest margin (NIM) rose five basis points year over year to 1.93%. Group Chief Financial Officer Lars Kramer said the bank’s business mix and funding position supported the result, with deposit growth and capital-market access helping it maintain pricing discipline. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank’s NIM declined to 2.16% from 2.45% a year earlier; the bank cited lower rates earlier in the year and a shift toward term deposits as it maintained liquidity.
Alvarez & Marsal’s Q2 2026 review of the 10 largest listed UAE banks found that sector cost of funds rose 18 basis points to 3.6%, while lending yields gained six basis points to 9.6%. Sector NIM slipped three basis points to 2.34%. Loans and advances grew 4.2% quarter over quarter, compared with 2.3% growth in deposits.
Future bank results will show whether deposit inflows keep pace with lending and how funding mixes move alongside margins.
