DUBAI, April 19 (Reuters) - Sharjah-based United Arab Bank said it aims to deliver profit growth consistent with past performance, as it posted first quarter net profit slightly below the same period last year.
UAB posted first-quarter net profit of 65.5 million dirhams ($17.84 million) on Monday, just slightly below earnings of $65.8 million dirhams in the same period last year.
"UAB aims to deliver the sort of solid growth consistently with what we've done in the past," Chief Executive Officer Paul Trowbridge said on Monday. "We believe we can deliver that."
In a separate interview with Reuters last week, Trowbridge said the banking industry still faced challenges in the wake of the global financial crisis, and that it would now have to adjust to "a new normal" after years of experiencing heady growth on the back of a booming real estate market.
Trowbridge said UAB had mostly avoided real estate, opting instead to focus on lending to mostly medium-sized businesses in the UAE in sectors such as trade, services and manufacturing.
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