QNB's QAR 1 trillion total assets 'largest in the Middle East'

The unprecedented surge in net profit indicates that the country has started recovering from the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.

Qatar National Bank has became the first local institution with total assets exceeding QAR 1 trillion, topping the list of largest financial institutions in the Middle East, according to data from the first six months of 2021 till June 30.

QNB Group is not just the largest financial institution in Qatar but also the largest in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

The bank’s statistics showed a surge in net profit during the first half of 2021, reaching QAR 6.8 billion (USD1.9 billion), an increase of 6% compared to the same period in 2020.

المؤشرات المالية للستة أشهر المنتهية 30 يونيو 2021https://t.co/DZhBG3UQ5E #QNB #QNBGroup #QNBEcon pic.twitter.com/O6W2rBjgMp

— QNBGroup (@QNBGroup) July 11, 2021

According to the report published on Sunday, the Total Assets reached QAR1.065 trillion (USD293 billion), an increase of 10% from June of last year.

The bank also saw a surge in operating income by 6% from June 2020 reaching QAR13.6 billion (USD3.7 billion) in only six months. This led to an increase in overall profitability.

“Loans and Advances grew by 6% to reach QAR747 billion (USD205 billion) being the main driver of growth in Total Assets. On the funding side, QNB diversified its customer deposits generation that helped increase its deposit base to QAR767 billion (USD211 billion),” stated the report.

After applying cost rationalisation and revenue generation, QNB was able to improve the efficiency (cost to income) ratio to 22.9%, which has been described as “one of the best ratios among the large financial institutions in the MEA region.”

During the first six months of 2021, the bank raised its loan loss provisioning to QAR 2.9 billion (USD793 million), creating a marginal surge in nonperforming loan (NPL) to 2.3%, which is one of the lowest rates among financial institutions in the MEA region.

This reflects “the high quality of the group’s loan book and the effective management of credit risk,” the data said.

Due to the bank’s firm policy when it comes to provisioning for potential loan losses, it achieved a coverage ratio of 108% by June 30, 2021.

Meanwhile, QNB’s Total Equity witnessed an increase by 6% from June 2020 to QAR98 billion (USD27 billion).

Additionally, earnings per share increased to QAR0.68 (USD 0.19) from QAR0.64 according to recorded earnings during the same period last year.

“QNB Group reported a strong Capital Adequacy Ratio of 18.8% higher than the regulatory minimum requirements of the Qatar Central Bank and Basel Committee,” the report added.

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