National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has announced plans to distribute cash dividends equivalent to 40 per cent of nominal value of the share (40 fils per share) and bonus shares by 10 per cent (10 shares for every 100 shares) to the shareholders.

Announcing this at the bank's AGM on Sunday, Nasser Al-Sayer, the deputy chairman said, “NBK continued crossing the threshold of one billion dollar profits in 2011, which confirms its strength and ability to deliver strong results despite the crisis.”

The bank had earlier reported a full year net profit of KD302.4 million ($1.08 billion) for 2011 when compared to KD301.7 million the year before.

The bank’s total assets grew 5.6 per cent to hit KD13.6 billion, while the shareholders’ equity rose 4.5 per cent to KD2.2 billion by the end of 2011. The top Kuwait lender's earnings reached 77 fils per share in 2011.

The other profitability indicators remained strong by regional and international standards: Return on Assets (ROA) reached 2.25 per cent while Return on Equity (ROE) recorded 14.6 per cent for the year, said Al Sayer.

“NBK Group achieved a strong performance thanks to the bank’s resilience, clear strategy, conservative culture, and high professional standards, all of which have limited the bank’s exposure to lower quality assets in and outside of Kuwait,” he noted.

In 2011, NBK began reaping the results of its strategic acquisition of a 47.3 per cent stake in Boubyan Bank.

'Boubyan showed significant improvement in profitability and marketshare following NBK’s strategic stake acquisition,' Al Sayer pointed out.

“NBK will continue supporting Boubyan Bank by providing world class talent and expertise though we remain committed to operating as two separate entities,” he added.

Group CEO Ibrahim Dabdoub said, 'NBK continues to hold the highest credit ratings among banks in the Middle East, with international rating agencies confirming the bank’s leading franchise, strong financial position, robust earnings capabilities and above peers asset quality.'

“We have over the years maintained the highest asset quality indicators by regional and international standards, despite the ongoing economic challenges,” Dabdoub noted.

NBK is currently rated “Aa3” by Moody’s, “AA-” by Fitch Ratings and carries an “A+” rating from Standard and Poor’s. All NBK ratings have a stable outlook.

'Added to this, NBK has been recognized as the ‘Best Bank in the Middle East’ for the second consecutive year by the leading financial publications: Global Finance, EuroMoney and The Banker,' Dabdoub added.-TradeArabia News Service