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Albaraka Q2 profits down 25%
Albaraka Banking Group, the largest publicly traded Islamic lender in Bahrain, has said its Q2 profit dropped 25% as financing income declined, Bloomberg has reported. Net income, excluding minority interests, dropped to $25.4m, or 3.42 cents a share, from $33.9m, or 4.56 cents, a year ago, the bank has said.
Kuwait Finance House to launch card campaign
Kuwait Finance House (KFH) is planning to launch new offers to credit and prepaid card holders, according to the Kuna agency. The new campaign, which will remain valid until next June, involves discounts for several restaurants, hotels, shops and health services, and is primarily intended to shore up the bank's market quota, which makes up around 35% of the local credit card market, KFH has said.
ADCB given 'A/Stable' rating
Standard and Poor's has given the rating of 'A/Stable/A-1' to Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Emirates Business has reported. The rating confirms ADCB's relatively strong financial position despite its exposure to the Saudi defaulters Saad and Algosaibi, the lender said in a statement, adding that the rating reflected government support and revenue diversification drives.
Emirates NBD rules out need for capital
Emirates NBD, the region's largest bank by assets, has said that it no longer needs additional capital injection from the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), its primary shareholder, according to Emirates Business. The bank's loan-to-deposit ratio stands at 111%, which is higher than the 100% required by the UAE Central Bank, the lender has said. In Q2 the ICD injected Dhs4bn into the lender, in order to boost the bank's Tier 1 capital.
Taib Bank Q2 loss slows
Taib Bank, a Bahrain-based investment bank controlled by Dubai Financial LLC, has said its second-quarter loss narrowed as operating expenses declined, Bloomberg has reported. The loss had slowed to $2.24m from $2.96m in the year-earlier period, the lender said in a statement.
TIBC and Awal administrators named
The Central Bank of Bahrain has appointed lawyers to act as administrators from tomorrow (10 August) for two banks in the kingdom. Trowers & Hamlins has been appointed to handle wholesale TIBC (the International Banking Corporation), while Charles Russell will look after Awal Bank. Both banks are owned by Saudi firms that have run into financial difficulties. Awal Bank is owned by Saad Group and TIBC by Hamad Algosaibi & Bros. Last week, Standard & Poor's lowered TIBC's counterparty credit rating to D/D (default). In both cases, the lawyers will also handle any legal action against the banks, while an accountancy firm is looking into the finances and handling claims from creditors.
NBAD calls on UAE Central Bank to add liquidity
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi has said that the UAE's Central Bank should either buy securities from local banks to help ease liquidity in the economy or loosen a cap on lending, Bloomberg has reported. "Because banks are tight for liquidity, there is quite a bidding war for deposits, and this is keeping interest rates higher than they should be," the bank's CEO Michael Tomalin said.
UAE issues new retail banking circular
The UAE Central Bank has issued a circular to local banks to get permission from the body before selling structured products to their retail customers, the Gulf Daily News has reported. "Should a bank wish to sell a structured product to its customers, it will have to submit to the Central Bank a written request with the relevant details and the rationale for asking an exemption to this rule," the circular said.
Bad loans at National Bank of Abu Dhabi expected to rise
National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the UAE's second-biggest lender by assets, has said that non-performing loans - or bad loans - are likely to rise during the latter part of the year. However, non-performing loans (NPLs) at the end of the second quarter, which made up 1.1% of lending, were lower than the market had expected. "You can't extrapolate from one quarter for a full year, and I think we should expect NPLs to increase a little bit in the second half," NBAD's CEO Michael Tomalin told Bloomberg.
Swiss bank drops Bahrain joint venture
Swiss private bank Sarasin is pulling out of a planned joint venture in Bahrain and said it will surrender its investment license in the country, Reuters has reported. The joint venture, first announced in December 2007, had not evolved as planned in business terms, a spokeswoman for the bank said. The deal, with Saudi Arabiaـbased financial group ElـKhereiji, was terminated amicably, she said.
Moody's reviews Bahraini banks
Moody's Investors Service has placed two Bahraini retail banks on review for possible downgrade. The National Bank of Bahrain BSC's long-term local currency rating of A1 and BBK BSC's local and foreign currency ratings of A2/Prime-1 as well as its A2 senior and A3 subordinated debt ratings will be reviewed within the context of Moody's global review of systemic support available for banking systems. Moody's has said it will be reassessing the level of systemic support for Bahraini banks to determine whether the systemic support they receive needs to be more closely aligned to the government's local currency bond rating.
QNB cuts customer charges
Qatar National Bank has reduced the annual fees for its Mastercard, Visa and co-branded QNB-Qatar Airways Gold and Silver credit cards by between 17% and 50%. The new fees also include charges for the reissue or replacement of cards, as well as the fees for supplementary cards for family members. The bank also cancelled the tariffs previously levied on minimum balance maintenance for QNB Current, Savings, Savings Plus & Call Accounts.
Ajman Bank Q2 losses rise
Ajman Bank, the emirate's first Islamic commercial bank, has reported a Dhs22.1m loss for the first half of 2009, after adjusting Dhs3m profit it made last year. Losses in the second quarter rose to Dhs13.6m against Dhs11.6m in the first quarter, totalling Dhs25.2m in the first half before adjustments. Total assets rose to Dhs1.5bn in second quarter compared to Dhs1.34bn in Q1 2009. Customer deposits rose more than Dhs470m, the lender said.
Boubyan Bank posts H1 loss
Kuwait's Boubyan Bank has posted losses of KD11.7m for the first six months of 2009. The bank said it has referred KD22m in operational profit to the allocations chapter, in order to boost the bank's financial status, it said.
Moody's rates Omani banks stable
The fundamental credit outlook for the Omani banking system is stable, according to Moody's Banking System Outlook report on Oman. The outlook reflects the country's relative remoteness from the global economy, the report said, but also the resilience of Oman's economy to the global recession. The stable outlook for rated Omani banks also reflects the continued growth of the Omani non-oil economy, the adequate domestic liquidity in the banking sector and the strong financial ratios of Omani banks, the report adds. Moody's warned that the system's fundamental credit conditions could face some downward pressure if the financial crisis continues, if the slowdown in global and local economies deepens, or oil prices fall. But the company said sustained domestic demand and continued capital expenditure should support operating conditions, at least over the short to medium term.
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