Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) is aiming to increase its loan portfolio by between 15 and 20 per cent in 2015, building on the “record” results the bank achieved last year, says CEO Adnan Chilwan.

The bank has done “exceptionally well in terms of performance”, Chilwan told reporters at a media roundtable on 25 January.

DIB recorded net profits of AED2.8bn ($762.3m) in 2014, marking a 63 per cent increase on the AED1.7bn recorded in 2013. 

It saw lending volumes soar by 32 per cent, with its loan book standing at AED74bn.

The growth in lending exceeded the bank’s original target of 10-15 per cent growth it set at beginning of last year.

The loanbook and the sukuk (Islamic bond) book combined totalled AED90bn, an increase on the AED67.7bn recorded in 2013, which Chilwan says is the “key achievement for the bank in 2014”.

DIB also saw the quality of its assets improve over the course of 2014, with its non-performing asset (NPA) ratio falling to 8 per cent from 11.1 per cent.

It is aiming to further reduce this ratio to 6 per cent during 2015.

The concentration of the bank’s business on the real estate sector has also fallen, with approximately 24 per cent of its current financing portfolio focused on real estate, 36 per cent on corporates and 41 per cent on the consumer sector.

DIB’s portfolio had been skewed in favour of the volatile real estate sector in the past, which had left it vulnerable in 2008-09 when the UAE’s property market crashed.

DIB raised a $1bn tier 1 sukuk issuance at the beginning of 2015 to increase its capitalisation levels and position the bank for future growth.