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Invest Bank reported a 61 percent year-on-year increase in profit before tax to AED 80.5 million for the first half of 2026, the lender said in a statement. Second-quarter profit before tax reached AED 58 million, rising 159 percent from the preceding quarter, according to the announcement. Operating income climbed 78 percent to AED 259.8 million while net interest income more than doubled with an 111 percent gain to AED 164.1 million and the net interest margin widened to 2.2 percent from 1.3 percent a year earlier. Non-interest income advanced 40 percent to AED 94.7 million on higher balance-sheet volumes and foreign-exchange contributions.
The bank’s balance sheet expanded markedly during the period with total assets climbing 27 percent year-on-year and 14 percent since the start of the year to AED 16.1 billion, the statement showed. Customer deposits rose 30 percent year-on-year and 17 percent year-to-date to AED 13.3 billion while net loans and advances increased 49 percent year-on-year and 22 percent year-to-date to AED 8.8 billion. These gains build on the bank’s return to full-year profitability in 2025 when it recorded profit before tax of AED 165.4 million according to its earlier filings.
Retail banking continued to gain traction as the retail loan book crossed the AED 1 billion threshold for the first time and closed at AED 1.1 billion after 73 percent growth since the end of 2025, Invest Bank reported. Retail current and savings account balances reached 46 percent of retail deposits, up from 35 percent at year-end 2025, reflecting customer confidence in the bank’s digital offerings. On the wholesale side core loans grew by AED 1.2 billion or 18 percent year-to-date and the deposits book expanded by AED 1.1 billion or 13 percent year-to-date.
Asset quality strengthened further with the Stage 3 loan ratio improving to 28.1 percent from 45.8 percent in the first half of 2025 while full coverage was maintained on those exposures, the lender’s figures show. Capital adequacy stood at 18.2 percent, well above regulatory requirements, and the eligible liquid asset ratio rose to 22.1 percent from 20.7 percent at the end of 2025. The advances-to-stable-resources ratio stood at 74.6 percent compared with 75.4 percent previously, underscoring continued prudence in liquidity management.
The half-year performance follows two notable milestones for the bank in 2026, according to the announcement. In February Invest Bank unveiled its new “Fit for Future” identity as part of a strategic transformation and relisted on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange after returning to profitability the prior year. Fitch Ratings assigned the bank an investment-grade BBB+ rating with a stable outlook in July, citing expected government support, adequate capitalisation, strong liquidity and improving performance following a multi-year programme to strengthen governance, risk management and operating efficiency.
Edris Al Rafi, chief executive officer of Invest Bank, said in the statement, “Our first-half results demonstrate that our transformation is delivering. Profit before tax is up 61 percent year-on-year. Our balance sheet continues to grow on scale, and we are doing so while strengthening asset quality and maintaining a prudent capital and liquidity position.” Al Rafi added that the performance together with the new identity and first investment-grade rating reflected confidence from shareholders, regulators and customers. The bank, founded in 1975 and headquartered in Sharjah with the Government of Sharjah as a strategic partner since 2019, said it remains focused on delivering diversified, digitally enabled and resilient growth to create long-term shareholder value.
