QNB Group, the World’s Strongest Bank and the leading bank in the Middle East and North Africa, announced its results for the three months ended 31 March 2014. These results include the financial results of QNB ALAHLI in Egypt.
For the three months of 2014 Net Profit was QR2.4 billion (USD668 million), up by 13.7% compared to last year.
The Group’s prudent cost control policy and strong revenue generating capability allowed it to maintain an efficiency ratio (cost to income ratio) of 21.7%, which is considered one of the best ratios among financial institutions in the region.
Total assets increased by 20.6% from March 2013 to reach QR458 billion (USD125.9 billion), the highest ever achieved by the Group. This was the result of a strong growth rate of 22.5% in loans and advances to reach QR317 billion (USD87.1 billion).
The Group was able to maintain the ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans at 1.6%, a level considered one of the lowest amongst banks in the Middle East and Africa, reflecting the high quality of the Group’s loan book and the effective management of credit risk. The Group’s conservative policy in regard to provisioning continued with the coverage ratio reaching 126% in March 2014.
At the same time QNB Group increased customer funding by 23.4% to QR346 billion (USD94.9 billion). This led to the Group’s loan to deposit ratio reaching 92%.
Total Equity increased by 11.9% from March 2013 to reach QR51 billion (USD14.1 billion) as at 31 March 2014. Earnings per Share reached QR3.5 (USD1.0), compared to QR3.1 (USD0.8) in March 2013.
The Group started implementing updated QCB and Basel III requirements for the calculation of the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) from Q1 2014. The ratio stood at 16.3% as at 31 March 2014, higher than the regulatory minimum requirements of the Qatar Central Bank. The Group is keen to maintain a strong capitalisation in order to support future strategic plans.
As a result of the Group’s high credit ratings and outstanding asset quality, it was selected as one of the world’s 50 safest financial institutions by Global Finance.
QNB Group tops the list in the Bloomberg Markets magazine’s annual ranking of the World’s Strongest Banks. 2012 was the first time that QNB was included in the list of eligible banks (78 banks were eligible globally) as a result of achieving more than USD100 billion of assets.
Based on the Group’s continuous strong performance and the expanding international presence, the Group improved its ranking as the most valuable brand in the MENA region, with a world ranking of 101 (Brand Value: USD1.81 billion) from 120 in 2012 (Brand Value: USD1.31 billion).
With the addition of QNB ALAHLI, the new subsidiary in India and the new office in China, QNB Group’s presence through its subsidiaries and associate companies increased to 26 countries providing a comprehensive range of products and services. The total number of staff is more than 13,700 operating from over 590 locations and with an ATM network of more than 1,250 machines.