AMMAN, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Jordan's Arab Bank nine-month net profits dropped 19.7 percent to $402.3 million against the same period last year, according to financial statements released on Sunday.
The bank saw a 3 percent growth in assets $52.12 billion against $50.6 billion at the start of the year, the financial statements obtained by Reuters showed.
The balance sheet showed the bank had set aside $203 million in provisions for non-performing loans in the first nine months of 2010, up from $111 million in the same period last year.
Most Jordanian banks are setting aside higher provisions to cover possible defaults and non-performing loans by businesses and real-estate firms reeling from the impact of the global downturn on the aid-dependent economy.
($1 = 0.709 dinar) (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi; editing by Michael Shields)