Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has announced the results for the nine months’ period ended 30 September 2020. Net Profit attributable to the Shareholders of the Bank amounted to QAR 2,216.5 Million for the nine months’ period ended September 2020 in line with the performance during the same period in 2019.
Total Assets of the Bank now stands at QAR 170 Billion higher by 4% compared to December 2019 with a growth of 9.8% compared to September 2019 driven by the continued growth in the financing and investing activities.
Financing activities have now reached QAR 113.2 Billion having grown by 5.7% compared to September 2019. Customer Deposits of the Bank now stand at QAR 112 Billion higher by 5% compared to September 2019.
Total income for the nine months’ period ended 30 September 2020 was QAR 5,961.6 Million compared to QAR 5,710.6 Million for the same period in 2019 registering a growth of 4.4%. Income from financing and investing activities has registered a growth of 4.9% to reach QAR 5,364.9 Million compared to QAR 5,113.7 Million for the same period in 2019, reflecting a healthy performance in its core operating activities despite the support provided to the customers impacted by Covid-19 pandemic.
Total operating expenses for the nine months’ period ended 30 September 2020 decreased to QAR 821.9 Million from QAR 827.8 Million for the same period in 2019. Strict cost controls supported by higher operating revenues enabled further enhancement of efficiencies with cost to income ratio improving from 23.4% to 20.5% for the nine months period ended 30 September 2020, the best in the Qatari Banking sector.
QIB’s efficient risk management framework has ensured that the results for the period ended 30 September 2020 have not been materially impacted by the events related to Covid-19. QIB was able to contain the ratio of non-performing financing assets to total financing assets at 1.3% reflecting the quality of the Bank’s financing assets portfolio. QIB continues to pursue the conservative impairment provisioning policy and has more than doubled the financing impairment charges to QAR 960.6 Million in the nine months of 2020 compared to QAR 446.9 Million in 2019 and continues to maintain 100% coverage ratio for non-performing financing assets. The Bank continues to take necessary actions and precautions for safety and well-being of its employees, customers and to the community at large.
Total Shareholders’ Equity of the Bank has reached QAR 17.7 Billion up by 7.8% compared to September 2019 and higher by 3.1% compared to December 2019. Total Capital adequacy of the Bank under Basel III guidelines is 18.3% as of September 2020, higher than the minimum regulatory requirements prescribed by Qatar Central Bank and Basel Committee.
In June 2020, Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") has affirmed the Long-term deposit ratings of QIB at “A1” with a Stable outlook. In November 2019, Fitch Ratings affirmed Qatar Islamic Bank at 'A' with a Stable outlook. In April 2020, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) affirmed the Bank’s credit rating at ‘A-’ with a Stable outlook. In May 2020, Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI) has affirmed the Bank’s Long-term Currency Rating (LTCR) of ‘A+’ with a Stable outlook.
In the first 9 months of 2020, QIB has received more than 25 prestigious awards from well-respected international publications. As a testament to its leadership in the financial sector, QIB was awarded “Best Islamic Bank in the Middle East and Qatar” by The Banker magazine (Financial Times Group) as well as "Best Islamic Bank in Middle East and Qatar”, and "World’s Best Islamic SME Bank" by Global Finance magazine. QIB has also received “Qatar's Best Digital Bank” and “Best Mobile Banking App” awards by The Asset magazine, a leading financial publication in Asia-Pacific. Furthermore, QIB received four awards from the Asian Banker magazine: “Best Islamic Retail Bank in the Middle East and Qatar”, “Best Digital Bank in Qatar” and “Best SME Bank in Qatar”. Islamic Finance News (IFN) readers have also recognized the Bank as the “Best Islamic Bank in Qatar”; the world’s leading Islamic finance publication, and was named the “Best Islamic Bank in Qatar” at the Middle East Banking Awards, presented by EMEA Finance, the leading finance magazine in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
As a recognition of his visionary leadership and achievements in the world of banking, Mr. Bassel Gamal, QIB’s Group CEO, received the “Middle East’s Islamic Banker of The Year” award at The Asset Triple A Islamic Finance Awards 2020, while QIB was recognized as the “Islamic Bank of The Year in Qatar” for the second consecutive year. Mr. Bassel Gamal was also awarded “Best CEO Response to COVID-19 in Qatar 2020” award by The Asian Banker, while the Bank was named “Best Managed Bank During COVID-19 in Qatar 2020”. Moreover, QIB has received “Best Digital Bank in Mena Region & Qatar” and “Most Innovative Retail Banking App in MENA Region” by Global Banking & Finance Review, in addition to the “Best Digital Banking Qatar 2020” by International Business Magazine, and “Qatar’s Best Bank for SMEs” by Asia money.
These awards come in recognition of the significant progress QIB has made in establishing itself as a leading banking institution in the Middle East, while cementing its leadership position in Qatar.