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Fitch gives Arab National Bank 'A' rating
Saudi Arabia-based Arab National Bank has received 'A' rating for its Long-term Issuer Default rating (IDR), with stable outlook. Short-term IDR is at 'F1', individual rating at 'B/C', support rating at '1' and support rating floor at 'A-'. Fitch has cited IDR ratings based on the bank's large domestic franchise, comfortable liquidity and well controlled market risks.
Emirates Islamic Bank inks Emcredit deal
Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) has announced the signing of an agreement with Emcredit to avail of its credit information reporting services. Emcredit's Credit Scope will enable EIB to make more informed lending decisions, improve services to its existing customers and tailor products and services based on the credit history of its customers, the lender said.
Barhain Islamic Bank posts Q3 loss
Bahrain's biggest Islamic retail bank by market value, Bahrain Islamic Bank, has said that its net loss for the three months ended September 30 was BD1.36m, compared with a net profit of BD6.26m in the same period a year earlier, Reuters has reported. Increased provisioning for bad loans and a decline in income from investments have led to the quarterly loss, the lender said.
Union National Bank Q3 profit down 38%
UAE's state- controlled lender, Union National Bank has said its third-quarter profit had declined by 38% to Dhs358m ($97.5m), compared to Dhs581.7m a year earlier, Bloomberg has reported. The lender had a Dhs232m gain from a property investment last year, which wasn't repeated, and an impairment loss on Dhs31.4m versus none a year ago, it said.
Emirates NBD eyes more branches in Saudi
Sanjay Uppal, chief financial officer of Emirates NBD, said the Dubai-based lender is seeking to expand in Saudi Arabia by opening additional branches, Reuters has reported. 'Saudi Arabia is very important because of its GDP and population,' he told the news service. The bank already has a representative office in Riyadh.
Qatar to sell 379m Barclays shares
Qatar Holding, a unit of the Qatar Investment Authority, said today it plans to sell more than 379 million shares of Barclays. Qatar will first exercise warrants at 197.775 pence, and stands to make more than 630 million pounds ($1bn) on the transaction at today's market price, according to Bloomberg. 'The decision to exercise the warrants and dispose of the resultant shares forms part of Qatar Holding's portfolio management program and does not impact on our current intention to remain a long-term strategic shareholder in Barclays,' Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Al-Sayed said in a statement.
Islamic Development Bank to hike lending
Saudi Arabia's Islamic Development Bank plans to increase its lending over the next three years in response to the financial crisis, Mohammad Tariq, the bank's head of treasury, told MEED. He said the bank's usual rate of lending growth is 15% a year, but its target has risen to 30% a year over the next three years. However, the bank will only grow at such speed if it can find good lending prospects, he added.
Qatar First Investment Bank buys 41% stake in engineering firm
Shariah-compliant investment lender, Qatar First Investment Bank, has announced it has acquired a 41% equity stake in Qatar Engineering and Construction Company, one of the largest Qatar-based engineering firms specializing in engineering projects for the oil and gas industry. The acquisition represents the newly established lender's first move towards building a portfolio of investments in the oil and gas industry across the region.
UAE buys all shares of Emirates Industrial Bank
The UAE's Ministry of Finance has announced that it has bought 49% of Emirates Industrial Bank from 13 entities. This stake adds to the 51% already owned by the government and completes the buyout of the bank, acording to a statement by EIB.
Al Salam Bank posts $12m profit in Q3
Bahrain-based Al Salam Bank has said its third quarter net profit declined by 35% to BD4.6m ($12.1m), compared to BD7.4m for the same period last year, Gulf Daily News has reported. Net profit for the nine-month period stood at BD15.2m ($40.3m), compared to BD22.7m ($60.1m) for the corresponding period last year. The total assets at the end of three quarters had climbed by 22% to reach BD667m ($1,768m) from BD554m ($1,469m) at the end of last year.
Saudi Hollandi Bank Q3 profit falls 51%
Saudi Hollandi Bank has reported a 51% fall in third-quarter profit, Bloomberg has reported. Net income had declined to SR150.3m ($40.1m) from SR306.2m a year earlier, the lender said.
Al Rajhi Q3 profit rises
Al-Rajhi Bank, the largest lender in Saudi Arabia by market value, has said its third-quarter profit had climbed to SR1.8bn ($480m) from SR1.76bn in the year-earlier period, Bloomberg has reported. Third-quarter income from lending and investments increased 17% to SR2.5bn. Lending increased 5.4% to SR144.1bn as of September 30, while customer deposits grew 4.2% to SR123bn at the end of the nine- month period, the bank said.
NCB Q3 profits up
Saudi Arabia's largest bank by assets, National Commercial Bank (NCB) has said its third-quarter profit surged by 20.7% to SR1.03bn ($275.7m) compared to the same period of last year, Reuters has reported. Net profit in the nine months to end-September dropped by 28% to SR3.27bn compared to a year earlier 'mainly due to the increase in provisions for loans and credit which the bank made in a measure of precaution,' the state-lender said.
BankMuscat posts profit figures
Oman's BankMuscat has reported a net profit of OR80.4m for the first nine months of 2009, compared to OR90.1m in the corresponding period of last year. Net interest income had increased by 10% to OR126.8m from OR115.2m reported during the same period in 2008. Impairment for credit losses for the 9-month period in 2009 has increased by OR50.1m to OR68.7m compared to OR18.6m for the first nine months of 2008. This includes provisions for Saudi branch exposures and necessary collective provisions.
Standard Chartered ups Priority Banking services
Standard Chartered UAE has said the number of its Priority Banking relationship managers will be doubled by the end of 2010. The move aims to focus on the needs of this fast-growing customer segment, the lender said.
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