The Banking Executive Magazine - July 2022 Issue

Arab Bank Group ARAB BANK GROUP PROFITS GROW BY 38% TO $252MLN IN H1 Arab Bank Group reported a net in- come after tax for the first half of 2022 of $252 million as compared to $182.4 million for the same period last year, recording an increase of 38 per cent. Sabih Masri, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated that the perform- ance in the first half of the year re- flects the Group’s prudent operating policies and strong financial posi- tion, despite challenging economic environment. The group loan portfolio grew by 6 per cent to reach $35.7 billion as of June 30, 2022 compared to $33.8 billion for the same period last year, while customer deposits grew by 2 per cent to reach $47.1 billion com- pared to $46 billion for the same pe- riod last year. The increase in loans and deposits in most areas of opera- tions are in line with the Bank’s sus- tainable growth strategy to expand and diversify its clients, loans and deposit base. The Group maintained its strong capital base with a total eq- uity of $10.2 billion. Randa Sadik, Chief Executive Officer, stated that the underlying perform- ance of the Group continues on its growth path with 6 per cent growth in net operating income across the Bank’s lines of business driven by im- provement in both net interest in- come and commission income by 4 per cent and 17 per cent, respec- tively, and well controlled Group un- derlying operating expenses. Sadik also added that the Group’s liquidity remains strong where loan- to-deposit ratio stood at 75.9 per cent and asset quality remains high with credit provisions held against non-performing loans continue to ex- ceed 100 per cent. Arab Bank Group maintains solid capital base that is predominantly composed from com- mon equity with capital adequacy ratio stood at 16.4 per cent. Arab Bank has recently released, for the 12th consecutive year, its Annual Sustainability Report for the year 2021. This comes as part of Arab Bank’s ongoing commitment towards integrating sustainability into its op- erations in a strategic manner that complements the Bank’s constant ef- forts to support achieving sustainable community development. The bank was named “Best Bank in the Middle East 2022” for the seventh consecu- tive year by New York-based interna- tional publication “Global Finance”. Sadik commented that Arab Bank has continued its digital transforma- tion journey which is a major pillar in the Bank’s strategy, providing a comprehensive range of banking so- lutions and services that cater to the evolving banking needs of its cus- tomers. The bank has recently released pio- neer applications in Jordan, includ- ing “Arabi Next” application; targeting Small and Medium enter- prises and “Arabi Junior” application; targeting children and teens. This is in addition to Arab Bank’s ongoing updates to “Reflect”, the first Neobank in Jordan, as part of the Bank’s constant efforts to deploy the latest digital banking technologies. the BANKING EXECUTIVE 50 ISSUE 163 JULY 2022