The Banking Executive Magazine - April 2021

ADCB PJSC lion, an increase of 28% year on year and equivalent to return on equity of 22.2% • Net loans stood at EGP 19 billion, up 15% from year end • Total deposits reached EGP 33 bil- lion, up 12% from year end • The Consumer Banking business, which is focused on the affluent segment, is preparing to launch credit card and remittance pay- ment solutions as well as a new digital banking platform to in- crease share of digital transactions and enhance customer experience • The Wholesale Banking business, which serves the SME, mid-corpo- rate and large corporate segments, is capturing synergies with the ADCB Group through facilitation of cross-border services, and plans to introduce a new online banking platform AL HILAL BANK ENHANCING ITS DIGITAL PROPOSITION WITH NEW PLATFORM TO BECOME THE FIRST FULLY DIGITAL SHARIA’AH- COMPLIANT RETAIL BANK IN THE UAE, WITH REGIONAL GROWTH AMBITIONS • Al Hilal Bank is preparing to launch a new Islamic Digital Fi- nancial services platform in Q4’21. It will offer seamless digital finan- cial solutions for customers and their families to meet their lifestyle needs • In addition to regular banking products such as accounts, pay- ment cards and loans, the platform will harness state-of-the-art tech- nology to enable non-banking fi- nancial solutions through an ecosystem of partnerships. The proposition is driven by customer insight provided by advanced data analytics, machine learning and ar- tificial intelligence • The scalable offering is built on a cloud-based platform to ensure agility, enabling the Bank to re- spond to evolving customer needs and to extend access to customers in key regional markets post suc- cessful launch in the UAE STRONG MOMENTUM IN NMC HEALTH GROUP RESTRUC- TURING AND PROVISIONING LEVELS REFLECT POTENTIAL FOR RECOVERIES • Update on restructuring process: Following the entry into adminis- tration in 2020 of NMC Health Group (NMC) and its UAE sub- sidiaries, the restructuring process has gathered strong momentum. ADCB continues to work closely with the joint administrators and other creditors to approve and im- plement a restructuring plan that preserves and builds value at NMC and maximises recoveries • ADCB, together with a syndicate of lenders, participated in a US$ 325 million Administration Funding Fa- cility (AFF) to ensure operational continuity of NMC and to pave the way for restructuring. Participation in the AFF confers super senior sta- tus to an equivalent amount con- tributed to the facility, placing the Bank in a strong position to max- imise the potential for its recover- ies • Update on financial performance: NMC has adopted a three-year business plan and has been outper- forming its financial projections on revenue and EBITDA metrics**. Also, the company has embarked on the sale of non-core assets and the divestment of Luarmia and Boston IVF to Fresenius for a total enterprise value of EUR 430 mil- lion, which is expected to be com- pleted in Q2’21. Proceeds will be used to repay a portion of the AFF and for operating expenditure • Update on potential recoveries: To date, the Bank has recorded signif- icant provisions and interest in sus- pense on the NMC Group. ADCB is comfortable with these provi- sioning levels, which are in line with independent assessments on value and recoverability and are consistent with information on po- tential recoveries disclosed to cred- itors by NMC under the Entity Priority Model (EPM) • Implementation of a Plan of Reor- ganisation (PoR) requires the sup- port of at least 50.1% of unsecured creditors by value for each of the 29 entities under administration, with a 28 May 2021 deadline set for creditors to agree to proceed. The proposed alternative option is a sale of core assets ALA'A ERAIQAT, GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, COMMENTED: “ADCB had a strong start to 2021, recording net profit of AED 1.121 bil- lion in the first three months, growth of 11% sequentially and significantly higher than in the first quarter of 2020, largely due to improved cost of risk compared to Q1’20. ADCB’s institutional strength has un- derpinned the resilience of our Con- sumer and Wholesale Banking businesses. Merger synergies, accel- eration of digital transformation and ISSUE 148 APRIL 2021 the BANKING EXECUTIVE 21