NBK Records Net Profits of $152m in Q1-2005

The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the country’s largest bank and the top-rated Arab bank, posted net profits of $152m in the first quarter of 2005, compared to $108m in the same period last year. NBK’s CEO explained that the growth in profits was achieved amid a strategy of diversification in the sources of income, prudent risk management and meeting evolving customer needs across all segments through the introduction of new high-quality services. The bank’s total assets reached $18.9bn at end-2004, while shareholders’ equity amounted to $1.91bn. In turn, NBK’s return on equity (RoE) and return on assets (RoA) stood at 32% and 3.3% respectively, among the highest worldwide.

ANB Posts 33% Growth in Net Profits in Q1-2005

Saudi Arabia’s Arab National Bank (ANB), the sixth largest listed bank in terms of market capitalisation ($10.6bn), posted net profits of $96.5m in the first quarter of 2005, up by 33% year-on-year. The bank’s total assets reached $15.8bn at end-March 2005, while its return on equity (RoE) rose from 26.4% to 29% in Q1-2005. ANB’s loan portfolio grew by 38% to $8bn, while customer deposits increased by 21% to $11.6bn at end-March 2005. Total expenses rose 13% to $85m of which $19m were allocated as provisions for non-performing loans. Jordan’s Arab Bank owns 40% of ANB while the remaining 60% is owned by 5,000 Saudi nationals.

Country Profile: Morocco

The Moroccan Ministry of Finance  highlighted  the performance of the Moroccan economy in 2004. Growth has reached 3.5% mainly attributed to the growth in the agriculture and construction sectors, the rise in phosphate exports as well as the expansion in the tourism sector which grew by 18% relative to 2003. Inflation was kept at 2%, in conformity with the average registered since 1998, and unemployment dropped from 12.3% to 10.09%. The external position strengthened further with Morocco’s current account surplus reaching 1.3% of GDP due to the rise in tourism revenues, remittances and external reserves. The report added that trade registered a 34% deficit due to a 14.1% increase in imports relative to only 2% rise in exports. As for the country’s fiscal performance, the deficit amounted to 4.4% of GDP relative to an initial estimate of 5.7%. The public dept dropped from 69.4% in 2003 to 66.7% of GDP in 2004 following its trend of decline over the past eight years. On the other hand, public spending has reached $12.39bn relative to an initial estimate of $11.95bn in light of increased wages and the subsidizing of some alimentary products.