ShareKUWAIT: Boubyan Bank recorded a net profit of KD 80.4 million for the year 2023; a growth rate of 39 percent compared with 2022, with an earnings per share of 18.8 fils; while continuing its precautionary approach by allocating KD 31.7 million in provisions. The Board recommended cash dividends of 8 fils and 6 percent bonus shares.
Chairman of Boubyan Bank Abdulaziz Abdullah Dakheel Al-Shaya commented: “We are very happy with the continued growth of our financial results in 2023, which reflects the robustness of our financial position, the sustainability of our profits, and the success of Boubyan’s strategy aiming towards perfection and to reinforce the bank’s status as one of the major financial institutions regionally, and the third largest bank in terms of financing portfolio and total assets in the Kuwaiti market.”
Al-Shaya pointed out that all of the bank’s key indicators witnessed a remarkable growth in 2023, where the total combined assets of Boubyan Bank Group increased to KD 8.4 billion at a growth rate of 7 percent. Moreover, the total of customers’ deposits grew by 9 percent to reach KD 6.5 billion, while the financing portfolio grew by 7 percent to reach KD 6.3 billion, and operating income grew by 8 percent to reach KD 218 million.
Al-Shaya sincerely thanked the shareholders, investors, and all Boubyan’s customers for their confidence and loyalty to the bank, and reiterated the Board’s full and ongoing support to the efforts of the bank’s highly-professional executive management, which wisely steers the bank towards achieving the best results, while thanking all the bank’s employees for their dedication throughout last year.
A year of achievements and solid performance
On his part, Boubyan Bank’s Vice-Chairman & Group Chief Executive Officer Adel Abdul Wahab Al-Majed stated: “Year 2023 witnessed the achievement of goals, milestones, and expansions, regionally and internationally, thanks to the solid pillars upon which the Group’s vision and strategy are based. The Bank completed its 5-year strategic plan “Boubyan 2023” started back in 2019, with the objective of positively transforming its business operations to make Boubyan an exceptional banking model that makes its mark in the Islamic banking industry.”
He added: “As we celebrated our 19th anniversary since the start of Boubyan’s journey marked with successful banking milestones, the bank managed - through well-studied approach- to become a leading franchise despite the fierce competition among the banking sector’s institutions, thus following a tailored path that reinforces customer satisfaction levels, leading to the achievement of a 96 percent customer-satisfaction score among all Islamic and conventional local banks.”
“The bank’s market share and its ongoing growth reflect the high levels in customer service and digital excellence, which are the outcome of the bank’s clear strategy, professional executive team, and continued investment in our human resources with special focus on our national cadres”, Al-Majed added.
Awards and international ratings
In 2023, the bank received 22 awards, recognitions, and international ratings from renowned global institutions across various domains and business sectors, which reinforced our banking and digital leadership and emphasized the strength of the strategy the bank has been adopting since many years locally, regionally, and internationally.
In recognition of the bank’s excellence in developing solutions and its long-established leadership in digital transformation, the bank received the award for the “World’s Best Islamic Digital Bank” for the 9th consecutive year, and the awards for the “Best Islamic Digital Bank in Kuwait”, the “Best Islamic Digital Bank in the Middle East”, and the “Best SME Banking in Kuwait - Digital” from Global Finance.
Additionally, the bank received the award for the “World’s Best Islamic Retail Bank”, and was ranked as the “Safest Islamic Financial Institution in Kuwait”, and the second safest one GCC-wide by Global Finance as well, in addition to being named the “Most Transformed Islamic Bank” and the “Best Bank for Digital Solutions” by Euromoney.
At the corporate finance level, Boubyan Bank received the award of the “World’s Best Islamic Structured Products House” by Euromoney. This emphasized the bank’s leadership in acquiring a share of corporate finance in the Kuwaiti market, and reinforcing its competitive abilities in offering outstanding corporate financing solutions and products.
Moreover, Boubyan Bank continued topping the pyramid of customer service in Kuwait, evidenced by earning two awards from Service Hero, the international consumer-driven customer satisfaction index. The bank was named the Best Islamic Bank in Customer Service for the 13th year in a row since 2010, in addition to receiving the First Place Award in Customer Service as a Country Winner across all economic sectors in Kuwait.
Furthermore, our ratings from Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch remain stable at A2, A, and A respectively. As for the ex-government support (or xgs) rating assigned by Fitch, the introduction of such new criteria communicates Fitch’s view of the creditworthiness of Boubyan excluding assumptions of extraordinary government support. Boubyan was assigned the second highest rating in Kuwait as per such criteria.
Products and services
Boubyan offers a group of innovative services, products, and digital solutions through its retail and corporate Apps. Such offerings add value to customers and show the bank’s keenness to maintain its leadership in innovation to ensure supporting its customers, enriching their banking experience, and making things easier, especially amid the competition across various business sectors. This reflects the bank’s ongoing approach to develop the digital infrastructure and to offer the best services in the field of digital payments.
In 2023, Boubyan opened a number of new branches, bringing the number to 48 branches across Kuwait, which were fully upgraded and modernized as per the latest international systems and standards. The branches were well-manned with competent banking professionals along with all resources that guarantee customers enjoy a swift, convenient, smooth, and unique banking experience that keeps pace with the developments of banking services.
As regards business accounts, Boubyan took it upon itself to empower their holders with the necessary experience to apply on the ground, and to incentivize their growth opportunities through the launch of SoftPOS available through the SoftPOS App, and the launch of the new update of the e-Pay service, which enables the digital collection of payments. The new update added new payment solutions with exceptional features, most of which were offered for the first time in Kuwait, such as the “Payments Scheduling” and “e-Pay Mandoob” services, and the “eRent” service available on the corporate App to help them manage and follow-up with their investment properties, and to collect monthly rents digitally all through one digital platform.
In an attempt by the bank to provide customers with unique banking experiences, this year saw Boubyan Bank’s launch of its new Premium Account, which is a custom-tailored product to its affluent customers, bringing them unique services and products that meet their daily needs and make them easier inside and outside Kuwait.
Corporate social responsibility
With the conclusion of 2023, Boubyan managed to stand out as an excellent role model in CSR and in the support of sustainability through many events and initiatives that made a clear mark and emphasized the bank’s social excellence, as well as its ongoing plans, which were crowned with the “World’s Best Islamic Bank for CSR” by Global Finance in recognition of the bank’s prominent CSR role in supporting various segments of the society, which confirms that the bank is on the right track to reinforce sustainable development inside and outside Kuwait.
The most outstanding aspect about Boubyan Bank’s CSR approach is its diverse domains through the bank’s various contributions, and volunteer and charitable efforts, which suit different age segments. For example, the CSR program covers health, sports, youth, educational, environmental, and many other activities in areas that have a significant influence on the bank’s successful journey, and its improvement towards achieving sustained growth.
Boubyan Bank continued its successful humanitarian initiatives through its 6th Noor Boubyan Campaign, which headed for the Islamic Republic of Mauritania in collaboration with the International Islamic Charitable Organization and the Dinarain Initiative to continue the campaign’s humanitarian mission in developing countries, through the performance of more than 14,000 cataract-removal surgeries over 6 campaigns across a number of African countries, with the participation of a group of Kuwaiti volunteer doctors.
To continue supporting the projects of young Kuwaitis, Boubyan organized Kuwait Coffee Festival’s activities in collaboration with more than 45 restaurants and specialty coffee shops of young Kuwaiti entrepreneurs, which was well-attended by more than 88,000 visitors over the 2-day festival amid unique family and entertaining atmosphere, with a group of various activities, events, and prizes.
Our human resources... the pillar of success
We can safely say that Boubyan’s employees are one of the main pillars of its continued success, as they embrace and adopt Boubyan’s future vision, the thing which comes in line with the principle of diverse job roles at the workplace, which greatly contributes to the introduction of innovative and creative ideas and deliverables, which significantly increase the bank’s productivity and profitability.
As a result, the bank managed to reach the highest percentage of national manpower across the private sector, which now exceeds 81 percent, while effectively taking many decisions that largely contributed to an increased number of women in leadership positions, along with the overall increase of female cadres at the bank who now account for 30 percent.
Nomo Bank ... International expansion
In 2023, Nomo Bank, the digital bank of the Bank of London and the Middle East “BLME”, a subsidiary of Boubyan Bank Group, launched unique products and services that put it on par with top financial institutions. Additionally, Nomo inked new partnership agreements such as the partnership with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank “ADCB” and Al-Hilal Digital Bank to give citizens and residents of UAE an opportunity to benefit from the innovative services and solutions by Nomo Bank through ADCB - Nomo and Al-Hilal Nomo Apps.
Moreover, Nomo launched its new multicurrency account, which allows customers to perform their banking transactions in six different currencies, enabling them to make payments in local currencies in more than 25 countries spanned across Europe and the Middle East within seconds using Nomo App, in addition to immediately benefiting from remittance and fund-transfer services, coupled with the possibility of automatically linking the account with Nomo Card and Apple Pay.
Nomo managed to position itself as one of the best sharia-compliant property finance options in the United Kingdom, as it offers a group of integrated real estate, finance, and advisory services related to ownership of real estate properties in the UK market to its customers in Kuwait and the region, through partnerships with major real estate companies such as Ayan Real Estate, Blueprint, and Great Portland.
