NBK reports net profit of USD 152 million

The Bank's return on equity and return on assets also rose to 3.3% and 32% respectively, marking an outstanding performance by international standards.

"NBK's fundamental strengths made us well positioned to take full advantage of a favorable environment and rising interest rates. We were able to leverage our strong financial standing and liquidity to selectively pursue growth opportunities, while maintaining our discipline in managing liabilities, costs and risks," said Mr. Ibrahim Dabdoub, CEO of NBK.

"The remarkable increase in net profit during the first quarter can also be attributed to the diversification of our income sources, which has been one of the key factors behind our consistently solid performance," added Dabdoub. "This goes hand in hand with our focus on meeting evolving customer needs across all segments through introducing new, high-quality services."

"All lines of business did well, both domestically and overseas. We achieved improved margins, higher fee income and strategically focused growth across our business activities, from lending and trade finance to wealth management and advisory services. As expected, our favorable funding mix contributed to improving the returns on our activities, as interest rates continued their steady rise from abnormally low levels in the past two years. Given the continued positive outlook and business momentum we have built up, we expect our growth to continue throughout the year."

"The upswing in the global business cycle was reflected in the overall performance, as well as the improvement in fee income, of our international network. The promising new markets we entered as part of our regional expansion strategy confirmed their potential, and we expect our international activities to continue growing in importance with our imminent entry into Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and plans to establish a presence shortly in both Dubai and China."

NBK's international network currently spans New York, London, Paris, Geneva, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and Singapore. NBK also has the largest local network within Kuwait consisting of 47 branches.

International rating agencies, including Moody's, Standard & Poor's and FitchRatings, have consistently awarded NBK the highest credit ratings in the Middle East, on the basis of its healthy performance, high asset quality and strong capital base. Rating agencies also cite the strength and depth of NBK's management and its clear strategy as fundamental strengths underlying the Bank's superior ranking. These strengths have also earned NBK recognition as the Best Bank in the Middle East in overall performance and across different activities from reputable financial publications such as Euromoney, The Banker, Global Finance and Emerging Markets.

NBK's total assets totaled USD 18.9 billion at end-2004, while shareholders' equity before the distribution of cash dividends stood at USD 1.91 billion.