Doha, 23th January, 2013 – QNB Group announced that it has acquired an additional 49.96% stake in the share capital of the Tunisian Qatari Bank, thus raising its total shareholding to 99.96%, effective the moment the Group receives the required approvals of the regulatory authorities in the Republic of Tunisia Republic and the State of Qatar.
The Tunisian Qatari Bank was established in 1982 as the first investment bank in Tunisia, only to become in 2004 the first Tunisian joint venture bank with a license to undertake all kinds of banking activities in association with the government of the State of Qatar. QNB substituted the government of the State of Qatar in 2008, by acquiring its 50% stake in the Tunisian Qatari Bank. The Tunisian government later on put most of its remaining shareholding in the Bank for sale through an international bid offer launched in the last quarter of 2012. The bidding’s results showed QNB Group as the winner, which will raise the Group’s shareholding to 99.96%. The Tunisian Qatari Bank has 19 branches and employs 198 persons.
QNB Group would strengthen and support the technical and administrative resources of the Tunisian Qatari Bank, and strengthen the risk management framework in light of the strategies adopted by QNB Group, in order to allow it to benefit from the Group’s international reach and the dedicated services provided by its affiliates and wholly owned subsidiaries. These include QNB Capital, incorporated at the Qatar Financial Centre, QNB Switzerland, the private banking arm of the Group in Geneva, and QNB Financial Services, incorporated in Qatar that provides dedicated brokerage services.
QNB Group announced excellent financial results for 2012, with net profits exceeding US$2.3 billion (QR8.3 billion), representing an increase of 11.1% over the previous year. Total assets rose by 21.5% to US$101 billion.
QNB Group enjoys an extensive international reach, with branches in 24 countries worldwide. The Group, through its affiliates and subsidiaries presently employ 8,800 persons in 400 branches and representative offices, in addition to a large ATM network comprising of more than 800 machines.
In recognition of the Group’s distinguished performance, the Bank was recently ranked in the list of the world’s safest 50 banks and one of the safest in the Middle East, by Global Finance, published on April 2012. QNB Group’s brand also topped a list of 114 Middle Eastern and North African banks. The Bank has also won the “Bank of the Year - Qatar” award by Euromoney magazine in June 2012. This marks the ninth time the Bank winning this prestigious award.