Bahrain based BMI Bank (BMI), an associate of BankMuscat, has reported a net profit of BD0.94 million ($2.49 million) for the third quarter, an increase of 8 per cent against  BD0.87 million ($2.31 million) in the same period last year.

Net interest income for the period was $10.59 million (BD 3.99 million). The net loss for the nine month period ended September 2009 was $12.29 million (BD 4.63 million).

“I am pleased with our 9 month results which show good growth for our operations with the underlying business continuing to do well despite ongoing uncertainties in global financial markets,' said Andrew Bainbridge, chief of BMI.

'We have excellent capital adequacy at over 25 per cent, and our strong liquidity gives us added security as well as the ability to support our customers. Our recent rating affirmation by Moody’s is a reflection of the prudent steps taken by us since the fourth quarter of 2008.'

'We will continue to grow our franchises in retail, SME and commercial banking across Bahrain, Qatar, Seychelles and Kenya, whilst at the same time maintaining our strong growth in net new customer numbers.'

'We remain cautious overall in our assessment of the business environment and while we haven’t seen any further deterioration in our portfolio, we currently expect to take further provisions on corporate exposures that we had announced earlier this year, by the end of the year.'

Moody’s recently affirmed the bank's credit ratings at ‘Baa2/P-2’ with a ‘stable’ outlook. The bank financial strength rating (BFSR) was also reaffirmed at ‘D+’.-TradeArabia News Service