H E Ali Ahmed Al Kuwari, Chairman of the Board of Directors of QNB Group
Doha: QNB, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, yesterday announced net profit of QR13.2bn ($3.6bn) for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of 10 percent compared to last year.
Operating income increased by 11 percent to QR28.3bn ($7.8bn) driven by strong growth in top line performance. This reflects QNB Group’s success in maintaining sustainable and strong growth across a number of revenue segments.
QNB said, in a press release, that the Board of Directors, during its meeting held yesterday has approved its results for the year ended December 31, 2021.
The Board of Directors have recommended to the General Assembly the distribution of a cash dividend of 55 percent of the nominal share value (QR0.55 per share). The financial results for 2021 along with the proposed profit distribution are subject to Qatar Central Bank (QCB) approval.
Total Assets reached QR1,093bn ($300bn), an increase of 7 percent from December 31, 2020, mainly driven by strong growth in loans and advances by 6 percent to reach QR764bn ($210bn). Robust customer deposits generation helped to increase customer deposits by 6 percent to reach QR786bn ($216bn) as at December 31, 2021.
QNB Group’s strong asset liability management capabilities enabled QNB Group to improve its loans to deposits ratio from 98 percent to 97.2 percent as at 31 December 2021 reflecting the improvement in the Group’s overall liquidity.
The Group’s drive for operational efficiency continues to result in cost-savings and strong revenue sources that has helped QNB Group to improve efficiency (cost to income) ratio from 24.3 percent to 22.2 percent, which is considered as one of the best ratios among large financial institutions in the MEA region.
The ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans remained stable at 2.3 percent as at December 31, 2021, one of the lowest amongst financial institutions in the MEA region, reflecting the high quality of the Group’s loan book and the effective management of credit risk.
Also during the year, QNB Group increased its loan loss provision charge by QR7.1bn ($1.9bn), as QNB Group remains cautious on the external environment with respect to potential risks that may arise from key markets where QNB Group operates.
This helped the Group to increase its coverage ratio to 117 percent, which reflects the prudent approach adopted by the Group towards non-performing loans.
Group Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) as at December 31, 2021 amounted to 19.3 percent higher than the regulatory minimum requirements of the Qatar Central Bank and Basel Committee.
QNB Group has 27,000 staff resources operating from approximately 1,000 locations and 4,500 ATMs.
