For the second consecutive year, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has been recognized as the ‘Best Islamic Bank in Qatar’ by Islamic Finance News (IFN), the world’s leading Islamic finance publication and news provider.
QIB achieved the award through record number of readers’ votes at the 16th annual edition of IFN’s Best Banks Poll; the unique barometer for Islamic banking performance in 35 countries.
Considered one of the most prestigious accolades in the world of Islamic finance, the annual IFN’s Best Banks Poll acknowledges the best providers of Islamic financial services across a series of markets and sectors and is based on direct votes by IFN readers. The number of votes recorded in total at this year’s Poll was over 50,000.
Commenting on receiving the award, Mr. Bassel Gamal, QIB’s Group CEO said: “We are pleased to be voted by the IFN readers as the Best Islamic Bank in Qatar for a second year in a row. This result reaffirms QIB’s leading position within the banking scene in Qatar as well as our ability to guarantee business continuity and support our corporate and individual customers during the ongoing pandemic challenges.”
Mr. Bassel added: “I would like to thank all the IFN readers who participated in the poll and reiterate QIB’s commitment to our customers’ financial well-being, to innovation and to the highest work standards. We are looking forward to keep on providing above the par banking products & services and continue reshaping Islamic banking in Qatar and beyond.”
Rated ‘A1’, ‘A-/A-2’ and ‘A’ by Moody’s, S&P and Fitch with stable outlooks, QIB has recently announced the financial results for the year 2020. QIB has achieved net profit attributable to shareholders of QAR 3.065 Billion for the fiscal year 2020 compared to QAR 3.055 Billion for the year 2019, despite the impact of Covid-19 and the decline in oil prices. The Bank maintained the basic earnings per share at QAR 1.21. Total Assets of the Bank has increased by 6.6% compared to 2019 and now stands at QAR 174.4 Billion driven by a growth in the core banking activities. Financing activities registered a robust growth by 4.7% over 2019 to reach QAR 119.1 Billion. Customer Deposits of the Bank now stand at QAR 118.1 Billion registering a growth by 5.8% compared to December 2019.
Since March 2020, QIB was able to implement a comprehensive “Bank Safely from Home” campaign, which resulted in an unmatched increase in reliance on digital channels by QIB’s individual and corporate customers.
QIB has also accelerated the digitization of its digital banking products and services, and has managed to offer all its customers the convenience of banking remotely. This included a number of new, innovative functionalities added to QIB’s Mobile App, the launch of a new Corporate Mobile App, and the structural revamp of the bank’s Internet Banking channels.
The bank took a proactive response to the economic implications of the pandemic especially on SMEs, immediately postponing financial instalments for SMEs and taking part in the COVID-19 National Response Guarantee Programs.
For more information, please visit www.qib.com.qa