Arab Bank Group reports higher net profit in Q1

AMMAN – Arab Bank Group announced Wednesday that net profit after tax and provisions went up to $217.2 million during the first quarter of 2015 compared to $216.3 million in the previous year.

Loans and advances increased by 3 per cent to reach $23.7 billion, compared to the same period last year, while customer deposits reached $34.7 billion, the bank said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

Adjusting for the impact of exchange rates, loans and customer deposits grew by 6.3 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively.

Arab Bank Chairman, Sabih Masri said the results achieved in the first quarter reflect the bank’s commitment to maintain the quality of its loan portfolio and to strengthen its capital position. 

The bank’s capital adequacy ratio stood at a strong level of 14.6 per cent, according to the statement.

Commenting on the bank’s performance, Nemeh Sabbagh, Arab Bank’s CEO, indicated that excluding the effect of exchange rate devaluations, the bank’s net operating profit grew by 4 per cent compared to the same period of 2014.

In line with the bank’s prudent strategy, the bank continued to improve asset quality with the ratio of non-performing loans to net loans going down to 4.9 per cent at the end of March 2015 compared to the 5.6 per cent recorded by the end of March 2014. 

Operating expenses were maintained at the same level, the bank said, adding that liquidity continued to be robust with a loan-to-deposit ratio of 68.4 per cent.

Masri expressed his confidence in the bank’s financial performance and its ability to continue growing its profits in the years ahead on a sound and sustainable basis.