Seattle Daily Star

  Net income for the first three months of the year climbed to $1.4bn First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE’s largest lender by assets, more than doubled its first-quarter net income to a record high, driven by the sale of its majority stake in its payments business and improved performance of the bank’s core business. Net profit attributable to shareholders for the three months to the end of March surged to Dh5.1 billion ($1.4bn), the lender said in a statement on Thursday to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded. Quarterly income includes a Dh2.8bn net gain from the sale of a majority stake in its payments business Magnati to New York-listed Brookfield Business Partners. The sale announced in February valued Magnati at about $1.15bn. FAB’s first-quarter earnings beat Arqaam Capital’s net profit forecast of Dh3.05bn. EFG Hermes had estimated its quarterly net income at Dh3.1bn. Core underlying operational performance also boosted the bank’s profitability, ...

  The bank is unable to make payments because of sanctions, UK’s FCA says Russian lender Sberbank said on Friday it was winding down operations at its investment arm in London, which Britain’s financial watchdog said was “operationally unable to make payments” owing to sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Sberbank is ceasing the operation of its London office, Sberbank CIB (UK) Limited. We are in contact with the local regulator, the FCA [Financial Conduct Authority], and in accordance with the law we will close our activities, fulfilling all obligations to our clients,” Sberbank said. It said key members of staff were still working in their current roles. The FCA said it had appointed two people to oversee the administration, a form of creditor protection that often precedes bankruptcy. The regulator said sanctions had caused Sberbank’s investment arm to become “operationally unable to make payments despite the firm having sufficient assets to cover its liabilitie...