The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) recorded a three per cent jump in net profit in the first nine months of this year at BD37.03 million ($98.48 million), compared to BD35.95 million for the corresponding period in 2011.

This came after setting aside BD7.29m towards general loan loss provision to strengthen the balance sheet and BD2.55 million towards impairment on equity investments.

For the third quarter, the bank recorded a net profit of BD11.93 million, marginally up from BD11.86 million for the corresponding period of the previous year.

"The bank's consistent and steady progress is a result of our continued focus on serving our customers with innovative products and services," said chairman Farouk Almoayyed.

Chief executive Abdul Razak Al Qassim said the strategy of increasing business through a well-diversified asset portfolio resulted in a strong improvement in the underlying performance of the bank.

"We continue to focus on new business opportunities to further enhance our presence in the domestic and regional markets," he added.

The net interest income for the nine months period in 2012 was BD46.95 million compared to BD40.38 million for the corresponding period of the previous year, a strong growth of 16.3 per cent.

This is attributable to growth in earning assets and improved returns on asset deployment.

The cost to income ratio for the nine months in 2012 improved to 30.55 per cent from 33.44 per cent in the previous year.

The bank took a general loan loss provision of BD7.29 million to strengthen the overall balance sheet position.

An amount of BD2.55 million was charged during the year towards impairment on equity investments due to declining stock market valuations.

Total earning assets stood at BD2.46 billion compared to BD2.14 billion on September 30, 2011.