QIB Press
Digital Desk
Jun 24, 2014 | 8 Minutes
Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Qatar’s leading Islamic Bank, has for the second year in succession been awarded the title of “Islamic Bank of the Year, Qatar” by The Banker magazine – the World’s longest running international banking title and the leading monthly title of the Financial Times Group.
This is the second year that The Banker has decided to hold an Islamic Awards and this is the only such award made in the country by the magazine, whose selection process is based on the bank which has made the most progress over the 12 months from March 2013 – March 2014.
In a letter to QIB, MENA Publishing Director of The Banker explained that the aim of the awards programme is to reward and promote industry-wide excellence in the global Islamic banking community. “We believe that the recognition of being named ‘Islamic Bank of the Year 2014’ in Qatar is testament to the strong management, sound business model and prudent risk approach of QIB,” he wrote.
It is worth mentioning that QIB’s results for 3 months ending 31 March 2014 were positive where Net Profit of the Bank amounted to QAR 335 Million for the first quarter of 2014 representing a growth of 15% over the first quarter of 2013. Total Assets of the Bank now stand at QAR 83 Billion having increased 21% compared to March 2013. Financing activities has significantly grown by 30% compared to March 2013. Customer Deposits of the bank registered a strong growth of 45% compared to March 2013 allowing the Bank to significantly improve its liquidity positions.
QIB’s Total Income grew by 14% compared to the first quarter of 2013 and reached QAR 840 Million for the 3 months ending March 2014. Income from financing activities was the primary growth driver which has increased by 21% compared to the first quarter of 2013. Net commission and fees income has also registered a strong growth of 57% compared to the first quarter of 2013. Total Shareholders’ Equity of the bank increased by 3.5% to reach QAR 11.2 Billion by the end of the first quarter 2014. From Q1 2014, the Bank has started implementing QCB requirements under Basel III for the calculation of the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR). The ratio stood at 15.8% as at 31 March 2014, higher than the minimum regulatory requirement of 12.5% prescribed by Qatar Central Bank.
Bassel Gamal, QIB’s Group CEO commented: ” We believe that the recognition of being named ‘Islamic Bank of the Year 2014′ is testament to the collective efforts of all our staff, our clients’ trust, a sound business model and our commitment to the community.”
Mr. Bassel added: “The award recognizes the significant progress that QIB is consistently making; we have managed to achieve 15% positive growth in the first quarter of this year compared to same quarter last year. This enhanced performance makes us look forward to maintain our leadership as the first and leading Islamic Bank in Qatar by providing innovative financial products and services to our individuals and corporate clients.”
The Banker is the world’s premier banking and finance resource. Read in over 180 countries around the world, The Banker is the key source of data and analysis for the industry. Its unique database of more than 4000 banks maps their financial strength and soundness via Tier 1 capital, their profitability and their performance versus their peers.
The Banker has been providing global financial intelligence since 1926 and has built a reputation for objective and incisive reporting on major events. Every month the magazine combines in-depth regional and country coverage with reports on capital markets and structured finance, risk management, working capital management and securities services, environmental finance, trade and project finance, trading, technology and management and governance issues.