Jordan's largest lender, Arab Bank Group, said its January-September net profit came to $615.1 million, barely changed from $614.2 million in the same period last year.

It said its loans book and customer deposits had continued to grow despite exchange-rate fluctuations.

Total loans rose 2 per cent to $23.6 billion as of the end of September, while deposits had grown 5 percent to $34.8 billion compared with the same period last year.

The bank, with a balance sheet of $46.4 billion, gave no figure for net profit in the third quarter alone.

CEO Nemeh Sabbagh said the ratio of non-performing loans to net loans stood at 4.8 percent at the end of September and that its provisions coverage ratio for non-performing loans stood in excess of 100 per cent.

Sabbagh said liquidity continued to be robust with a loan-to-deposit ratio of 63 percent and a capital adequacy ratio of 14.02 percent at end of September.

Chairman Sabih Masri said in a statement the bank had seen a positive impact from an out-of-court settlement reached last August with hundreds of Americans who accused it of facilitating militant attacks in Israel after a U.S. jury found the bank liable. He did not give details of the settlement.

The verdict marked the first time a bank was held liable in U.S. court for violating the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act, which permits U.S. citizens to pursue claims arising from international terrorism.

Arab Bank, which operates in 30 countries, owns 40 percent of Saudi Arabia's Arab National Bank ANB.-Reuters