United Arab Emirates' Mashreq Bank reported a 2 per cent increase in its net profit in the first quarter of 2012 to Dh271 million compared to Dh265.3 million for the same quarter in 2011. The total income for the bank during first quarter of 2012 was Dh937 million, a 14.3 per cent drop relative to the first quarter of 2011. However, Mashreq's net fee, commission and other income to operating income ratio, increased further to close at 53.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2012. Mashreq continued to rationalize its liability structure by shedding high cost deposits, leading to a 2.2 per cent reduction in customer deposits compared to December 2011 to Dh44.4 billion. However, the bank's loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 84 per cent as of March 31. Mashreq's total assets suffered a moderate decline of 3.3 per cent to Dh76.6 billion compared to Dh79.2 billion at the end of 2011, Gulf News reported.
