NBB approves 35pc dividend

08/03/2018 05:19 AST

National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) today approved the distribution of a dividend of 35 per cent for 2017, marking another year of strong shareholder returns.

The dividend comprised a 25 per cent cash and a 10 per cent stock in the form of bonus shares. Shareholders in the bank's share register as of March 7, 2018 are eligible to receive the dividend, which will be distributed from March 18.

This was announced following the conclusion of the bank's Ordinary General and Extraordinary General Assembly.

The assembly also approved the bank's financial statements for 2017, a year in which NBB reported record net profit of BD61.01 million ($162.25 million), an increase of 4.8 per cent from 2016. The assembly also approved a number of transfers including approximately BD3.1 million (5 per cent of the bank's profits) to its Donations and Contributions Program, which underpins NBB's corporate social responsibly activities and dedication to the community. The Bank's external auditors were reappointed for the forthcoming year.

The assembly also elected the bank's new Board of Directors for the next three years from March 2018 to March 2021. They are: Farouk Yousuf Khalil Almoayyed - Chairman, Dr Essam Abdulla Fakhro - Vice Chairman, and directors: Khalid Yousif Abdul Rahman, Hussain Sultan Al Ghanem, Fawzi Ahmed Kanoo, Khalid Omar Al Romaihi, Shaikh Rashid bin Salman Mohamed Al Khalifa, Hala Ali Husain Yateem, Yusuf Abdulla Yusuf Akbar Alireza, Mohamed Tareq Mohamed Sadeq and Rishi Kapoor.

Almoayyed said: "We are pleased with the performance of the bank and the strong shareholder returns delivered for 2017. Our continued growth has been driven by a new strategic plan, which has seen NBB expand its revenue streams, strengthen its regional presence and achieve operational enhancements. This progress, which has come despite ongoing regional and global economic challenges, reinforces the resilience of NBB and the strong foundations on which our market leadership is built."

The bank's strategy, adopted in 2017, marked the start of a transformative journey for NBB aimed at ensuring its position as a bank for the future. The strategy focuses on expanding the business mix for more effective participation in the local economy, diversification of the clientele base and greater innovation through investment in human capital and the digitisation of the bank. With these as core objectives, NBB can secure its ability to grow sustainably, improve efficiency and further strengthen its role as Bahrain's leading partner for economic development.

Jean-Christophe Durand, NBB's chief executive officer, added: "Our new strategy has been effective in supporting growth and the distribution of strong dividends to our shareholders for 2017. During the year, our efforts to strengthen the underlying business resulted in an increase in deposits and stronger income generation. Recognising that our human capital is at the core of our new strategy's successful implementation, we reinforced the team across all disciplines by attracting new talent and training our colleagues in order to avail them of the skills required to execute our plans in an effective manner.

"We look forward to building on the momentum with which we have entered 2018 and leveraging our enhanced focus, financial position and human capital to achieve even further progress and growth," he said.

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