NBAD shows how much it’s been hiring, but some local banks are cutting staff

Regional banks have been heralded as the safe employment option this year, and the rising expenses – and profits – at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) are evidence of this. However, some local firms are still cutting headcount.

NBAD has been poaching staff from international players throughout this year, while also talking up plans for expansion into international markets. This has pushed up operating expenses as well as the cost-income ratio at the bank.

It has just reported its Q3 results, and an increase in net profits of 7.6% to AED3.2bn is undoubtedly a positive development. It’s also been hiring, with operating expenses year-on-year to September up by 15% on 2011, to AED2bn. This is down to “continuing investment we are making in our people, technology and new business opportunities”, according to NBAD’s group chief executive, Michael Tomlin.

Its cost-income ratio is a distinctly modest 32.5%, but this is still above its target, the bank says.

It’s not all good news among the supposedly safe local banks, however. Earlier this month, Qatari investment bank, QInvest announced that it was cutting jobs in its asset management and brokerage arms. This was despite some high profile hires for its investment bank including Goldman Sachs’ former chief executive in Qatar, Tamim al-Kawari.

The fall out from Emirates NBD’s absorption of Dubai Bank and Emirates Islamic Bank is also prompting redundancies, in addition to the 750 announced in March. The bank said in its Q3 report yesterday that it was undertaking “staff readjustment”, or job cuts in other words.