Emirates Development Bank’s financing sees 673% YoY rise in 2022; here’s how much it gave as loans

Emirates Development Bank (EDB) announced its key wins at a board meeting held to review its performance for the period ending December 31, 2022.

The bank provides direct and indirect financing to UAE-domiciled businesses or projects that touch on any of its five priority sectors, including manufacturing, infrastructure, advanced technology, food security and healthcare.

It also supports entrepreneurs and startups with non-financial services such as the provision of training and advisory programmes on building credit worthiness.

Emirates Development Bank’s milestones in 2022

Among the major achievements of the bank over 2022 was the approval of Dhs6.1bn in loans, representing a 673 per cent increase over the previous year and 34 per cent increase over previous quarter.

A total of Dhs1.8bn in loans was approved to SMEs for 2022, representing a 387 per cent increase over 2021 and a 45 per cent increase over previous quarter. This comprised Dhs1.2bn of direct financing and Dhs611m of indirect financing through EDB’s credit guarantee scheme with partner commercial banks.

Loans disbursed via the EDB micro-lending platform powered by beehive surpassed the 100 million threshold. Since the launch of the EDB business banking app in 2021, a total of 2,094 customers were on boarded.

A total of Dhs4.3bn in loans was approved for large corporates, representing a 1,640 per cent increase over FY 2021 and a 39per cent increase over the previous quarter.

Emirates Development Bank’s large corporates division has been supporting the UAE’s national priority sectors with large projects in key areas, including data centres, water desalination plants, transportation, hospitals, manufacturers, specialised logistics, among others.

We at EDB look forward to another great year ahead. Thank you to everyone who has supported us in our journey.

To watch the full video, please click on the below link:https://t.co/3V95uiPKvd

— Emirates Development Bank (@EDB_UAE) March 1, 2023

Developmental Highlights

As such, EDB’s lending decisions are partially informed by its proprietary developmental impact scorecard which ensures that businesses and projects selected for financing carry the desired impact on the UAE economy, on a scale of 0 to 6.

For 2022, the average score was 3.6, exceeding the bank’s target of 3.0 and thereby ensuring that the potential developmental impact of financing in 2022 is increasingly in line with the bank’s targets. Emirates Development Bank’s financing activities in 2022 resulted in Dhs3.5bn non-oil GDP impact and 12,000+ industrial jobs created.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, chairman of Emirates Development Bank, said: “In line with the leadership’s vision to support the nation’s sustainable economic development, Emirates Development Bank plays a pivotal role in supporting the national industrial sector by facilitating the adoption of advanced technology, enabling the growth of SMEs, and cultivating an ecosystem for innovation. This is in line with the national developmental goals of the UAE to ensure sustainable growth and diversification of the economy.

“In 2022, EDB’s financing activities to businesses and projects of strategic importance to the nation’s priority sectors resulted in an Dhs3.5bn contribution to the UAE’s non-oil GDP and the creation of over 12,000 industrial jobs, reflecting the bank’s extensive progress in executing its strategy. Looking ahead, EDB remains confident in its purpose and ability to play a strategic role in supporting the industrialisation and development of a sustainable, and knowledge-based economy for the UAE.”

Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, chief executive officer of EDB, also commented: “I am exceptionally proud of EDB’s stellar performance in 2022. The bank’s growing financing activities, product suite, and advisory capabilities for mSMEs and large corporates have enabled it to achieve record levels of loans approved, GDP contribution, and job creation.

“As we look to 2023, we will build on this momentum. We are well positioned to further drive our developmental mandate, enhance the bank’s financial offerings across our five strategic sectors, and continue contributing to the economic competitiveness of our nation.”

In other news, in December, Emirates Development Bank and ADCB partnered on a credit guarantee scheme for SMEs. The partnership is enabling SMEs in the UAE to have improved access to strategic financing options. Under the credit guarantee scheme, EDB guarantees up to 50 per cent of the finance facility extended to SMEs by ADCB. The scheme is in line with EDB’s mandate to provide Dhs30bn in financing towards the development of the UAE economy in five strategic sectors, of which Dhs5bn are to be allocated through credit guarantee schemes.

Read: Emirates Development Bank, ADCB to partner on credit guarantee scheme for SMEs