International Bank of Qatar (IBQ), one of the oldest banks in the country, said its full-year net profit for 2011 has increased by 25 per cent to QR573 million ($157.3 million) compared to QR458 million the previous year.

Announcing the results for the year ending December 31, 2011, IBQ said with this 25 per cent jump in profit, the bank had achieved the second highest year-on-year growth in profits among all banks operating in Qatar.

Growth was witnessed across all IBQ business lines as total customer deposits enjoyed a considerable rise of 22 per cent on the previous year, finishing at QR19.4 billion, the bank said in a statement.

The bank’s customer loan portfolio reached QR16.7 billion, up 9 per cent over 2010. The non-interest income was equally strong compared with the same period in the previous year growing to QR233 million, registering a 32 per cent increase.

Commenting on the results, George Nasra, managing director said: “We are delighted with what has been yet another very successful year for IBQ. We are particularly pleased that IBQ was able to achieve such results from its core banking operations while at the same time maintaining high quality loan and investment portfolios.”

“Our partnership with National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has also continued to fuel IBQ’s success with the bank having seen net profits and total assets growing at an average annual rate of 48 per cent and 45 per cent respectively since the relationship with NBK was established in late 2004.”

“In addition to a strong financial performance last year, we were also very proud to be named Best Retail Bank in Qatar by Arabian Business as well as to be awarded the Best Customer Service Award by Banker Middle East magazine for the fourth year in a row,' he stated.

Nasra said, “As we move into 2012, we will continue to look at new and innovative ways to develop our services and product offerings to best meet our customers’ needs and to provide them with the unrivalled and quality services that they have come to expect from IBQ.”

The Qatari bank had recently added an additional location to its branch Network with the opening of a new branch in the Lagoona mall.

It was also the first bank in Qatar to comply fully with Qatar Central Bank’s instructions to dispose of its Islamic business, said Nasra.-TradeArabia News Service