Arab Bank Group Q1 profits up 30%

TDT | Manama                                                         

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Arab Bank Group yesterday reported a first-quarter net income after tax that rose 30% to $216 million from $166 m in the year-ago quarter.

Sabih Masri, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated that Arab Bank’s first quarter 2023 performance was strong despite the challenging environment for banks globally and regionally.

Loans grew to $35.4 billion and deposits reached $47.7bn. Excluding the impact of the devaluation of several currencies against the US dollar, loans and deposits grew by 3% & 4%, respectively.

Randa Sadik, Chief Executive Officer, said the bank’s net operating profit grew by 50% driven by the growth in revenues from its core banking business as well as disciplined control of operating costs, where provisions held during the period reflect the bank’s prudent strategy against the increased economic uncertainty witnessed globally and regionally.

Sadik added that the Group’s liquidity and asset quality remains solid where loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 74.1% and credit provisions held against non-performing loans continue to exceed 100%.

Arab Bank Group maintains a strong capital base that is predominantly composed of common equity with a capital adequacy ratio of 16.8%.