National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) is on the lookout for sound merger and acquisition opportunities in Bahrain and the wider GCC region, it has emerged.

The bank's chairman Farouk Almoayyed said the bank had surplus capital and liquidity mainly because of a dearth of projects and investment opportunities in the local market, reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Regionally, the strategy of selective expansion in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh is progressing as planned, he added.

“The prospects for the year appear to be challenging given the current global economic situation and the significant drop in oil prices in over the last few months,” Almoayyed said.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the 58th general assembly meeting of shareholders at the bank's headquarters in Manama yesterday.

Earlier, the chairman told shareholders that growth momentum was maintained last year with NBB achieving an increase of four per cent in net profit at BD53.44 million ($140.7 million) when compared with BD51.36 million for the previous year.

The return on equity at 14.42 per cent and return on assets at 1.95 per cent remains strong by regional and international standards, he said.

Customer deposits grew to BD2.1 billion as at December 31 last year compared to BD2.08 billion at the end of 2013, reflecting a growth of 3.4 per cent.

Total earning assets stood at BD2.5 billion as an December 31 compared to BD2.5 billion as at the previous year-end.

“The bank continues to have a well-diversified portfolio of assets,” Almoayyed said.

“Capital adequacy continues to remain at a healthy level of 34.3 per cent before the proposed appropriations.”

According to the chairman, last year, the bank's personal banking division expanded distribution network and offered products and services in line with changing customer preferences.

The business banking division continues to support the corporate and commercial business segments by structuring suitable products and services to meet their requirements, whereas the treasury and investment group is looking to deploy the surplus liquidity in several domestic and regional issues.

The meeting also saw shareholder approval to the appointment of Shaikh Rashid bin Salman Al Khalifa as a member of the board of directors.

Shareholders also approved a cash dividend of 25 per cent for last year amounting to BD23.5 million as well as a bonus issue of 10 per cent or one additional share for every 10 shares held, amounting to BD9.41 million.

Total cash and stock dividend payouts for last year amount to 35 per cent of the paid-up capital.

Meanwhile, Almoayyed, Khalid Yusuf Abdulrahman, Abdulrazak Al Qassim, Abdulla Yusuf Akhbar, Ali Hussain Yateem and Fawzi Ahmed Kanoo were elected to the board for a three-year term. - TradeArabia News Service