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NBB net profit rises 6pc to $121 million

Manama, March 8, 2012

The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) posted a net profit of BD45.64 million ($121 million) in 2011 compared to BD43.02m in 2010, an increase of 6.1 per cent.

This marked another year of excellent financial performance despite challenges, said its chairman.

'The bank's strategic vision of increasing domestic market business while seeking selective regional business opportunities and efficiently managing operational costs ensured that the long-term growth objectives were met without compromising on risks,' chairman Farouk Almoayyed told shareholders at the bank's annual meeting yesterday.

He said the bank had a good start to the year and 2012 was looking positive.

He said they were looking to expand across the GCC and hoped to open new branches in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where they had a branch in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi and hoped to get permission to open one in Qatar.

'At the beginning of 2011, it was anticipated that the global economic recovery would pick up during the year,' he said.

'However, the euro zone debt crisis, the political gridlock in the US and events in the region resulted in significant uncertainties in the overall economic climate as the year progressed and the global economy has shown significant signs of weakness as the year came to a close. The GCC economies, in comparison, have performed well as a result of government-sponsored infrastructure projects, taking advantage of the significant government revenue and sovereign wealth funds.

'Bahrain's economy was impacted in the first half of 2011 as a result of the events in the early part of the year,' he said.

'However, economic activity picked up in the second half of the year, particularly in sectors like manufacturing and finance in the backdrop of favourable oil prices and the effects of government spending to provide further impetus to economic growth. The year ahead poses several challenges as the global economy steers its way through the current slowdown,' he added.

'NBB's strong balance sheet, healthy capital adequacy ratio and comfortable liquidity position places us in a comfortable position to further expand business relationship with customers and increase our market position in the domestic economy besides seeking selective expansion opportunities in the region,' Almoayyed said.

'As the economic and business environment stabilises, we remain confident that our strategic ingenuity, core values and professional approach to business will enable us to deliver the best value to our stakeholders and further improve our position in the market place,' said chief executive Abdul Razak Al Qassim.

'Our well-established business franchise, strong capital base and adequate liquidity will enable us to meet our priorities for the eventual benefit of all stakeholders,' he added. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: National Bank of Bahrain | NBB | profit | Manama | 2011 |

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