Ajman Bank's first operating quarter shows promising future

Following its official opening on February 2nd of this year, the Bank has now declared the results of its first operating quarter to be better than forecast with an Dhs11.6m loss.

These latest results also show a very strong liquidity position of over Dhs1.2bn situating the Bank well to pick-up healthy business opportunities in the future, within the overall boundaries of its risk appetite.

As a newly operational organization in its first year, an initial loss is to be expected due to disproportionate levels of investment versus revenue building. Nevertheless, the Bank's total assets reached Dhs1.34bn in less than two months of operations.

Ajman Bank is currently operating with two fully functional branches and a third, due to open in Sharjah, is currently in its pre-opening test phase.

Two additional branches are under construction and a number of offsite and in-branch ATMs, both planned and in place, further contribute to the Bank's initial assets and are part of the extensive delivery network planned for 2009. Keeping this is mind and with particular reference to Ajman Bank's strong liquidity position, any loss declared appears marginal and not significant.

Last quarter's pre-operating profit of Dhs3m announced earlier this year is understood to be a great triumph for a bank then heavily invested in its forthcoming branches, state-of-the-art IT set up, staff and infrastructural set-up. The profits, which have contributed to the Bank's better than expected results, are attributed to successful management of its investment strategies and balance sheet.

In light of the Bank's particular newly operational position there are no established benchmarks with which to assess performance. All previous quarters declared to the DFM, all showing positive results, constitute a pre-operating view which is incomparable to its first post-opening quarter.

An official spokesperson from Ajman Bank commented on the results, saying:

"This has been a true quarter of change. We have successfully moved from a bank in progress to a bank in operation, entering the market and taking our place in the community. We believe in quality; our people, our processes and our premises, as anyone who has visited our flagship branch in Ajman can attest. This is what we have strived for and this is what we have achieved in a very short operational period."

The official spokesperson added: "In the first year it is commonly understood that any organization will not achieve positive financial results. The results announced this quarter are an improvement on those detailed in the budget, owing to effective management of the overall balance sheet, realistic growth forecasting due to market conditions and smart investment choices. This is a good end to a solid and exciting quarter for Ajman Bank."