ABU DHABI: National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) expects its percentage rate of growth in lending to be in the high single digits in the coming months, although the profitability of its lending will continue to be contained by intense competition, its chief executive said.

Low interest rates, however, are not constraining the overall earnings growth of the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates, which like its peers has reported better than expected third-quarter results with a 32 percent rise in its net profit.

NBAD has been readjusting its strategy to earn more from its fee-paying business, meaning its total loans had fallen in the first six months of 2014.

However, they rebounded strongly in the third quarter so that lending was up 7.7 percent in the first nine months of the year, with half of that growth linked to the lender's involvement in the 5.8 billion-dirham ($1.6 billion) initial share sale of Emaar Malls Group, it said in its results statement.

The pipeline of initial public share offers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi would continue to benefit the bank and its lending growth in the next six months, as would the overall growth of the economy, said Alex Thursby, chief executive of NBAD.

"If we see 4 percent GDP growth, we double that for loan growth so between 7 to 9 percent (for the industry). We won't be double digits but will be high single digits year on year," Thursby said on a results conference call.