Arab Bank Group announced its results for the first quarter of 2018 reporting a net profit after tax of $220.3 million as compared to $218.2 million in 2017, with net operating income before provisions and taxes reaching $335 million and recording a double digit growth of 15%. Loans and advances grew by 5% to reach $25.5 billion, whilst customer deposits stood at $33.4 billion.
Mr. Sabih Masri, Chairman of the Board of Directors stated that the performance of Arab Bank confirms the success of the Group in generating strong results despite the backdrop of a challenging operating environment.
Mr. Nemeh Sabbagh, Chief Executive Officer, stated that the underlying performance of the Group continues on its growth path with first quarter results recording a solid 15% increase in net operating income. He added that the strong performance was driven by growth in core banking income with net interest income increasing by 12%.
Mr. Sabbagh remarked that Arab Bank Group enjoys high liquidity and strong and robust capitalization. Group’s capital adequacy ratio stood at 15.1% as of 31 March 2018. He added that the asset quality of the Group remains high and that credit provisions held against non-performing loans continue to exceed 100%.
Mr. Masri concluded by expressing his confidence in the Group’s ability to continue on delivering strong results.
Arab Bank was named “Bank of the year in the Middle East” for 2017 by the Banker – Financial Times, London, and “Best Bank in the Middle East” for 2017 by Global Finance, New York.
