RIYADH: Net profits of the UAE’s four largest banks surged in the first half of 2022 on the back of higher income from interest and lower provisioning charges, according to Moody’s. The four banks — the First Abu Dhabi Bank, Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank — account for over 70 percent of the UAE’s banking assets as of June 2022. According to the report, the banks reported a combined net profit of $4.4 billion, up 10 percent from $3.9 billion in the same period in 2021. “The performance takes into account the hyperinflationary accounting adjustment for one large UAE bank with a subsidiary operating in Turkey,’’ said Nitish Bhojnagarwala, vice president- senior credit officer at Moody’s Investor Service. This happens as the operating environment in the UAE continues to recover despite global macro-headwinds. The recovery reflected improving consumer confidence particularly given loosening pandemic restrictions, a strong vaccination roll-out, recovering oil prices and expectations of a reversal in the benchmark interest rates cycle.