Arab Bank Group H1 profits grow 38%

TDT | Manama                                                             

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Arab Bank Group reported a net income after tax for the first half of 2022 of $252 million as compared to $182.4 m for the same period last year, recording an increase of 38%.

The Group loan portfolio grew by 6% to reach $35.7 billion as of June 30, 2022 compared to $33.8 bn for the same period last year, while customer deposits grew by 2% to reach $47.1 bn compared to $46 bn for the same period last year.

Sabih Masri, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated that the performance in the first half of the year reflects the Group’s prudent operating policies and strong financial position, despite challenging economic environment.

Randa Sadik, Chief Executive Officer, stated that the underlying performance of the Group continues on its growth path with 6% growth in net operating income across the Bank’s lines of business driven by improvement in both net interest income and commission income by 4% and 17%, respectively, and well controlled Group underlying operating expenses.

Sadik also added that the Group’s liquidity remains strong where loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 75.9% and asset quality remains high with credit provisions held against non-performing loans continue to exceed 100%.

Arab Bank Group maintains solid capital base that is predominantly composed from common equity with capital adequacy ratio stood at 16.4%.