Amlak to renew bid for bank licence

Dubai-based mortgage lender Amlak Finance plans to renew its application for an Islamic banking licence next year so it can accept deposits, a report said.

Amlak, the largest UAE mortgage lender by market value, applied for a banking licence 18 months ago so it could take deposits from customers, a cheaper source of funding for its home loan business than either bank loans or bonds.

The mortgage lender has not heard from the central bank since, Chairman Nasser al-Shaikh was quoted as saying by Emirates Business in an interview.

In April Shahli Akram, then Amlak's deputy chief executive, told Reuters the central bank had rejected the application.

Akram later stepped down as part of a management shakeup.
"We are renewing our application to convert into an Islamic bank after this year's closing," Shaikh said, according to the paper.
"What ever concerns they might have had in the past have been resolved," he said.
Amlak expects to report profit growth of more than 70 percent this year, Shaikh said.

Amlak Finance reported a 98 percent jump in third quarter after a record second quarter ended almost a year of declining earnings.

The company's stock has been battered by concerns about that it was losing market share to rival Tamweel, which briefly overtook Amlak's market value this month. Tamweel's stock is up 67.5 percent this year. Amlak's has fallen 6.2 percent.

Amlak, which complies with Islamic law, has sold 350 million dirhams ($95.32 million) of stock market investments and bought real estate, Shaikh said. - Reuters