OREANDA-NEWS. QNB Group, one of the World’s Strongest Banks and the leading bank in the Middle East and North Africa, announced its results for the six months ended 30 June 2015.

For the six months of 2015, Net Profit was QAR5.6 billion, up by 10.2% compared to last year. This was driven by operating income, which increased to QAR8.2 billion, up by 7.5% compared to June 2014, demonstrating QNB Group’s success in achieving strong growth across the range of revenue sources.

Net interest income increased by 6.7% to reach QAR6.4 billion, with net fee and commission income and net gain from foreign exchange reaching QAR1.1 billion and QAR0.4 billion, respectively, reflecting success in diversifying sources of income.

The Group’s prudent cost control policy and strong revenue generating capability allowed it to maintain an efficiency ratio (cost to income ratio) of 21.0%, which is considered one of the best ratios among financial institutions in the region.

Total assets increased by 9.7% from June 2014 to reach QAR511 billion, the highest ever achieved by the Group. This was the result of a strong growth rate of 9.2% in loans and advances to reach QAR356 billion.

The Group was able to maintain the ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans at 1.5%, a level considered one of the lowest amongst banks in the Middle East and Africa, reflecting the high quality of the Group’s loan book and the effective management of credit risk. The Group’s conservative policy in regard to provisioning continued with the coverage ratio reaching 133% in June 2015.

At the same time QNB Group increased customer funding by 10.4% to QAR381 billion. This led to the Group’s loan to deposit ratio reaching 93%.

Enhance Shareholder Value

Total Equity increased by 7.4% from June 2014 to reach QAR58 billion as at 30 June 2015. Earnings per Share reached QAR8.0, compared to QAR7.2 in June 2014.

Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) calculated as per the QCB and Basel III requirements stood at 14.4% as at 30 June 2015, higher than the regulatory minimum requirements of the Qatar Central Bank and Basel Committee. The Group is keen to maintain a strong capitalisation in order to support future strategic plans.

Maintain the Highest Credit Ratings

During March 2015, Fitch Rating agency upgraded QNB Group to AA- /F1+ on the back of the strength of State of Qatar’s sovereign rating. QNB Group has maintained its credit rating from all other rating agencies and is considered one of the highest in the region. This is a result of QNB Group’s strong financial position, high quality of its assets and leading position in the financial sector.

As a result of the Group’s high credit ratings and outstanding asset quality, it was selected as one of the world’s 50 safest financial institutions by Global Finance.

Institution of Choice

QNB Group was the recipient of many leading local, regional and international awards including Euromoney – Best Bank in the Middle East and Qatar and The Banker Middle East – Best Bank in Qatar. These awards reflect QNB’s global success and the growing International network of operations now extending across more than 27 countries and 3 continents.

Ensure Strong Brand Recognition and High Brand Value

Based on the Group’s continuous strong performance and its expanding international presence, QNB improved its ranking within the Brand Finance Global Top 500 Banking Survey 2015 and is now the biggest bank brand by value in The Middle East and Africa. The QNB Ranking moved significantly from 101st (Brand Value: USD1.8 billion in 2014) to 79th (Brand Value: USD2.6 billion in 2015) further recognising QNB’s improved standing and strong brand recognition.

Strengthen and Enhance Capabilities

Compliance is a cornerstone requirement for the QNB Group. As part of the on-going improvements to the Compliance toolset, QNB have developed new processes and enhancements to systems, controls and procedures many areas of the Group. Recently a Compliance SelfAssessment was successfully conducted across all functions of the bank that affirmed QNB’s strong compliance culture. Group Compliance also developed a new “Mutual Funds checklist” to facilitate the preparation process of launching new funds and ensuring compliance with the new proposed Mutual Funds Law. In addition, the core banking system has been improved to profile the overall business relationships across all customers based on a sophisticated risk matrix which compiles the different AML risks associated with them.

Ensure Outstanding Talent Pool

Group Human Capital continued its extensive training and development implementations through various programs such as Leadership, Supervisory, Individual and Trainee Development which provided employees at all levels an opportunity to develop and identify the QNB top talents.

The Bank continued its Ambassador program where talented employees are sent to work overseas in one of QNB’s international entities for a period of 6 to 24 months. The aim of the program is to expose the future leaders of QNB to international business environments early in their careers in order to enhance and develop the foundational skills and capabilities required to lead QNB with a global mind-set in the future.

QNB undertook an Employment Engagement Survey to help identify areas of strength and areas for improvement in regards to the workforce. From the results of this survey several initiatives have been undertaken to improve how employees view and operate within QNB, such as the recently launched QNB Managers Guidebook which empowers managers at all levels by giving them tools to address employees concerns directly. Multiple other initiatives are planned as QNB continues to strive towards being recognised as an Employer of Choice by both staff and potential candidates.

The Bank continues to place high emphasis on recruiting nationals in all countries in which the Group operates, providing them with dedicated training programs to further enhance their capabilities. This has resulted in the Bank having a Qatarisation ratio that exceeds 51% in Qatar, the highest among financial institutions in Qatar.

QNB Group is present, through its subsidiaries and associate companies, in more than 27 countries and 3 continents providing a comprehensive range of products and services. The total number of staff is more than 14,900 operating from over 630 locations and with an ATM network of more than 1,340 machines.