SYDNEY: Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) narrowed its losses in 2012, Britain’s only Shariah-compliant retail lender said, a week after it raised £10m ($15.5m) from majority shareholder Qatar International Islamic Bank.
IBB, which has struggled to turn a profit since its inception in 2004, posted a loss of £6.99m in 2012 as against a loss of £9m a year earlier.
Home financing business helped narrow the gap by nearly doubling to £117m in 2012 as against £61m a year earlier.
The bank did not disclose personnel or administrative expenses, which in the past have represented the bulk of its costs.
Last week, IBB raised £10m by placing 1 billion shares with QIIB at a price of 1 penny each, raising the number of its outstanding ordinary shares to 4.5 billion, according to regulatory filings.
“The additional £10m of capital will allow us to fund our asset growth and transformation programme, as we head towards a more stable and in the long term profitable financial position,” Sultan Choudhury, IBB’s managing director, said in a statement.
QIIB, which now owns 91 percent of IBB, has been in discussions since last June with Qatari lender Masraf Al Rayan to sell a controlling stake in the British bank.
Reuters
