QIB Press
Digital Desk
Mar 17, 2015 | 8 Minutes
Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) – Qatar’s leading Islamic bank – has had its Fitch rating of Long Term IDR upgraded to ‘A+’ from the previously held ‘A’ with a stable outlook.
QIB’s Sukuk Funding Ltd also had its senior unsecured trust certificates’ Long-Term Rating upgraded to ‘A+’ from ‘A’; while both its trust certificate issuance programme and senior unsecured trust certificates’ Long-Term Rating were upgraded to ‘A+’ from ‘A’.
Commenting on the ratings, Bassel Gamal, QIB Group’s Chief Executive Officer, welcomed Fitch’s confirmation of the Bank’s financial strength. “The upgraded ratings confirm the strong financial position of Qatar, the banking sector outlook and QIB’s financial vigour, which has been steadily improving in line with our long term objectives,” he said.
“In 2014, the Bank managed to strengthen the key performance and risk metrics through proactive financial and risk management. QIB maintained the ratio of non-performing financing assets to total financing assets at 1%, one of the lowest in the industry, reflecting the quality of our financing assets portfolio and its effective risk management framework,” added Gamal.
“Further, QIB continues to pursue the conservative impairment policy with the coverage ratio for non-performing financing assets reaching 101% as of December 2014, up from 94% when compared to December 2013.”
“To further strengthen the Bank’s capital base and support the future business growth, the latest QIB’s General Assembly approved the issuance of Basel III compliant Additional Tier 1 Sukuk up to a maximum amount of QAR5 billion. This is still subject to approval of Qatar Central Bank and the regulatory authorities, but a very positive development for our ongoing and future growth,” concluded Gamal.
In 2014, QIB’s net profit reached QAR 1.6 billion, representing a growth of 20% compared to 2013. Currently, total assets of the Bank stand at QAR 96 billion, having increased 24% compared to the previous year. Financing activities, which remain the key growth driver for QIB, reached QAR 60 billion, representing a 27% growth over 2013, and customer deposits moved up to QAR 67 billion, registering a strong growth of 32%.
Meanwhile total shareholders’ equity in the Bank has reached QAR 12.5 billion, an increase of 5% compared to September 2013. The total Capital Adequacy of the Bank under Basel III guidelines stands at 14%, against the minimum of 12.5% prescribed by Qatar Central Bank.
Owing to a remarkable year of profit, QIB swept home 15 banking industry awards thanks to a growth strategy that aligns itself with the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030.