Boubyan Bank posts 17% rise in Q1 net profit

12/04/2017 05:31 AST

Boubyan Bank has recorded a net profit growth of 17 percent in Q1 2017. The bank's net profits amounts to KD 10.7 million, with earning per share of 4.7 fils compared to 4 fils for the comparative period of 2016. Adel Abdul Wahab Al-Majed, the Bank's Vice-Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, stated that such an increase in the bank's profits is a good start for a year at the same time is also expected to bring a lot of challenges for the Kuwaiti banking sector for both Islamic and conventional banks.

He added: "Despite all the challenges faced by Kuwaiti economy and the banking sector, in particular, over the recent years, Boubyan Bank maintained a good level of growth whether in terms of profitability or market share."

He went on to add that the announcement of Q1 profits coincided with the report of Moody's, the international credit rating agency, which had positive news for the bank. "The agency's upgrade of the long-term deposit ratings highlights the growth of Boubyan Bank's share in the Kuwaiti market and reinforces the bank's strategic and financial importance', he added. Moody's, one of the most prestigious global credit rating agencies, has recently upgraded the credit rating of Boubyan bank's long-term deposit ratings from "Baa1" to "A3".

¦ Growth of all main indicators On the other hand, Adel Abdul Wahab Al-Majed stated that the all of the Bank's main indicators showed that the Bank witnessed a remarkable growth during the first past quarter where the total assets increased to KD 3.7 billion at a growth rate of 13 percent while the operational revenues increased to hit KD 29 million at a growth rate of 17 percent in addition to the increase in customers' deposits by 20 percent, amounting to KD 3.1 billion. He further added that the total equity of the bank increased to KD 344 million compared with KD 318 million last year and that there was a notable increase in the financing portfolio up to KD 2.7 billion with a growth rate of 18 percent in addition to the continuous growth of the bank's customers' base. Al-Majed stated as well that the market share, in financing, increased generally to approximately 7.4 percent in the meantime, while the share of the retail finance increased specifically to approximately 10.5 percent.

¦ Remarkable awards Al-Majed also stated that the beginning of the current year has also witnessed the Bank's receipt of a number of remarkable awards, the most prominent of which was the "Best Islamic Bank in Kuwait" award from Global Finance for the third year in a row due to the bank's achievements whether in terms of increasing the profitability rates or increasing its market share. Al-Majed went on to add: "The bank managed to establish itself as one of the best institutions in the Kuwaiti private sector in the field of customer service, evidenced by continuing to receive the first place award, for the seventh year in a row atop all Islamic Banks in customer service from Service Hero, the international consumer-driven customer satisfaction index, in addition to being named the Best Private Sector Institution in Customer Service in Kuwait for the 2nd time." He further stated: "These awards once more reiterates our bank's superb competitive abilities, and its ability to provide its customers with the highest levels of services and the best products customers may seek, whether they are existing customers or potential customers targeted in the Kuwaiti market."

¦ Expansion of branches & technology services On the other hand, Al-Majed stressed the continuity of the Bank's plans to expand in the local market by opening new branches which have now reached 38 branches compared with 15 branches only 5 years ago. He went on to add: "In line with our domestic geographical expansion to be closer to our clients, we are continuing our investment in e-services and e-banking products which placed us ahead of other local banks. We are doing that in order to ca

Arab Times