Al-Majed: The good start in 2018 will bring more successes

Mr Adel Abdul Wahab Al-Majed

KUWAIT: Boubyan Bank has announced KD 12.6 million in net profits for Q1 2018, at a growth rate of 18 percent compared with the comparative period of the past year, while the earning per share amounts to 5.27 fils compared with 4.47 fils for the comparative period of 2017.

Adel Abdul Wahab Al-Majed, the Bank's Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented on such positive results by stating that such an increase in the bank's profits for the first quarter of this year would be a good start for a new year where the bank would seek to continue scoring more successes in retail or corporate banking.

He added: "It is no secret that achieving good growth rates at the beginning of any financial year is very important since it represents a strong motive for everyone towards more hard work and more successes. Our success is attributed to the Grace of Allah, the Almighty, in the first place, then to the efforts of our human resources, the trust of our shareholders and customers which helped us continue our journey towards achieving good growth rates which highlight the success of our strategy and plans to expand in the local market."

Al-Majed stated that all of the Bank's main indicators showed that the Bank witnessed a remarkable growth until the end of the first quarter where the total assets increased to KD 4.2 billion at a growth rate of 15 percent while the operational revenues increased to hit KD 34 million at a growth rate of 16 percent in addition to the increase in customers' deposits by 12 percent, amounting to KD 3.5 billion.

He further added that the total equity of the bank increased to KD 367 million compared with KD 344 million last year and that there was a notable increase in the financing portfolio up to KD 3 billion with a growth rate of 13 percent in addition to the continuous growth of the bank's customers' base.

Al-Majed stated as well that the market share, in financing, increased generally to approximately 8.14 percent in the meantime, while Boubyan Bank's share of the retail finance increased specifically to approximately 11 percent. Besides, the bank recorded outstanding growth rates in the corporate credit portfolio which stood at 12 percent. This was achieved by attracting a number of operational companies known for their financial and economic creditworthiness while continuing to maintain the highest standards of credit quality, studying and diversifying risks.

Expansion and services

On the other hand, Al Majed stressed that the bank would continue opening new branches after reaching 40 branches, and he added: "In line with our domestic geographical expansion to be closer to our clients, we are continuing our investment in e-services and e-banking products which placed us ahead of other local banks. We are doing that in order to cater for the various needs of our clients."

"Customer service has always been our recipe for success, as we have always taken into account that all our customers are special and that they deserve the best because meeting their aspirations and ambitions should be up to the level of their expectations when they chose us.", Al-Majed emphasized.

In this context, he stressed that Boubyan Bank continued being at the top of the pyramid of customer service in Kuwait, supported by earning two awards from Service Hero, the international consumer-driven customer satisfaction index, namely, the First Place Award in Customer Service as a Country Winner atop all economic sectors in Kuwait, for the third time, in addition to being named the 2017 Best Islamic Bank in Customer Service for the eighth year in a row since 2010.

Al-Majed added: "The confidence of our customers was well-placed, and this was fruitful as it contributed to earning these two special awards in Kuwait". He further stressed that the bank would continue at that remarkable level of customer service.

CSR and HR

Al-Majed stated that the first quarter of this year marked a number of activities and events organized by the bank as a part of its corporate social responsibility to support the youth as well many other segments of the society. The most prominent of such events was Kuwait Coffee Festival, held for the first time in Kuwait, in addition to sponsoring several sports events.

"Boubyan Bank gives a special attention to its human resources as a part of the bank's approach being a developed and modern bank keeping up with international and regional changes through its young management, and the Consumer Banking Group, which comprises mostly of youths, testifies to this. The bank is known for placing the youth in leading roles, and this has further helped Boubyan Bank earn the award for the "Replacement and Nationalization of Manpower in Kuwait". The award is given on an annual basis by the Council for the Ministers of Labor for the best GCC institution", Al-Majed concluded.