Arab Bank Group has announced its results for the first quarter of 2018 reporting a net profit after tax of $220.3 million as compared to $218.2 million in 2017.

Announcing the Q1 results, the Jordan-based bank said its net operating income before provisions and taxes hit $335 million, thus registering a double digit growth of 15 per cent.  

Loans and advances grew by 5 per cent to reach $25.5 billion, whilst customer deposits stood at $33.4 billion, it stated.

Sabih Masri, the chairman of the Board of Directors stated that the performance of Arab Bank confirms the success of the Group in generating strong results despite the backdrop of a challenging operating environment.

CEO Nemeh Sabbagh said the underlying performance of the group continues on its growth path with first quarter results recording a solid 15 per cent increase in net operating income.

He added that the strong performance was driven by growth in core banking income with net interest income increasing by 12 per cent.

Sabbagh said Arab Bank Group enjoys high liquidity and strong and robust capitalization.

"Group’s capital adequacy ratio stood at 15.1 per cent as of March 31, 2018," he added.
 
The asset quality of the group remains high and that credit provisions held against non-performing loans continue to exceed 100 per cent, he added.-TradeArabia News Service