Bahrain-based BBK, a leading bank in the region, has announced that its ordinary general assembly has approved the board of directors’ recommendation to distribute BD51.4 million ($135.3 million) as cash dividends for the year 2019.

At 40 fils per share, this is equivalent to 40% of the paid-up capital (interim cash dividends include 10% paid to shareholders with a total of BD12.8 million, said a statement from BBK. The cash dividends will be distributed on April 12, it added.

The general assembly also agreed to distribute bonus shares to shareholders at 5% of the paid-up capital, which equals 5 shares for every 100 shares held, for a total of BD6.48 million, to become the bank’s capital after the increase of BD136,173,633 divided into 1.361.736,332 shares.

The BBK general assembly also approved the minutes of the ordinary general assembly meeting held last year in JUne.

The General Assembly of BBK also elected seven new members to the board. These are Murad Ali Murad, Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Ghania Mohsen Al Darazi, Jassem Hassan Zainal, Edrees Musaed Ahmad, Shaikh Khalifa bin Duaij Al Khalifa, and Mohammad Abdulrahman Hussain, in addition to appointing Mishal Ali Al Hellow and Naser Al Raee, Hani Al Maskati Ashraf Bseisu and Noor Al Jassem as non-executive members of the board of directors.

Addressing the gathering, Chairman Murad Ali Murad, said: "BBK was able to achieve another year of profitability, sustainable growth, and good performance despite the great challenges that were presented last year in conditions of regional and global instability and declining oil prices."

"BBK enters the year 2020 more determined to face the challenges that were exacerbated by the spread of the Coronavirus that has taken a heavy toll on business and deepened the fiscal deficit. The continuous decline of oil prices, the reduction of the federal interest rate, the increase in the state budget’s deficits and the accompanying increase in debts all continue to be a serious concern," stated Ali Murad.

"Focusing on core banking activities along with consistent performance, taking a proactive risk management approach and commitment to strategic goals resulted in the delivery of another record performance growth of 12.4%," he added

CEO Reyadh Sater said BBK was aggressively pursuing its strategic goals, as during the year 2019 the bank distributed interim cash dividends of 10 fils per share, and the bank successfully converted BD86.1 million “the AT1 perpetual bonds” to CET1 capital, besides successfully issued USD 500 million new senior unsecured note for 5 years under the EMTN program.

"As part of its efforts to improve digitalization, BBK was the first bank to introduce the new contactless debit cards, we launched a 24/7 Virtual Assistant and an electronic remittance service, we also signed an agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS), and recently opened the first “smart branch” in Bahrain City Centre Mall," he added.-TradeArabia News Service