Al-Sager: NBK-Bahrain's performance affirms success of Group's expansion strategy

Isam Al-Sager, NBK Group Chief Executive Officer

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait-Bahrain (NBK Bahrain), the branch of NBK Group in Bahrain, reported net profits of BHD 93.5 million(KD 74.9 million) for the year 2017 compared with BHD 73.4 million (KD 58.9 million) in 2016, a growth of 27 percent year-on-year.

As of end of 2017, NBK-Bahrain's total assets increased by 13 percent y-o-y to BHD 5.8 billion (KD 4.6 billion), compared with BHD 5.1 billion (KD 4.1 billion) in 2016. While total shareholders' equity increased by 19.8 percent y-o-y to BHD 599.6 million (KD 480.7 million). Customer deposits reached BHD 3 billion (KD 2.4 billion), up by 10.4 percent y-o-y.

Isam Al-Sager, NBK Group Chief Executive Officer said "NBK-Bahrain continues its solid performance despite the challenging operating environment. The Bank's strong results affirm the success of NBK Group's regional expansion strategy that is built on a culture of prudence and strict risk management practices."

"We are successfully proceeding in strengthening our position as a leading regional bank," Al-Sager added. "NBK's subsidiaries continue to deliver strong results contributing positively to the Group's profitability and adding value to the growth in our business."

Ali Fardan, NBK-Bahrain General Manager, said "This strong performance reflects our conservative management as we have consistently focused on our core business and ways to diversify sources of income. We continue to grow our operations locally by developing new products to serve our customers benefiting from the support of NBK Group."

NBK has been present in Bahrain since 1977 and enjoys strong and historical relationships with the major Bahraini and international companies. Al-Fardan added.

NBK continues to enjoy collectively one of the highest ratings among all banks in the Middle East from the three international rating agencies Moody's, Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poor's. The Bank's ratings are supported by its high capitalization, prudent lending policies, and its disciplined approach to risk management, in addition to its highly recognized and very stable management team. NBK was also named among Global Finance's list of the 50 safest banks in the world for the twelve consecutive times and was awarded as the Best Bank in Kuwait in 2017 by the Banker, Euromoney and Global Finance.

NBK enjoys the widest banking presence with a local and international network reaching 4 continents. NBK's international presence spans many of the world's leading financial centers including New York, Europe, GCC, Middle East, Singapore as well as China (Shanghai).