By Dipo Olowookere
Largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, QNB Group, has announced its results for the three months ended March 31, 2017.
For the three months under review, the lender’s Net Profit reached $900 million, up by 12 percent compared to previous year, delivering a consistently high profitability.
Total assets increased by 35 percent from March 2016 to reach $204 billion. This was driven by a growth rate of 33 percent in loans and advances to reach $147 billion.
QNB Group was successful in attracting new customer deposits to comply with the cap on loans to deposit ratio of 100 percent set by QCB, which is effective from the end of 2017.
These deposit mobilisation efforts resulted in increased customer funding by 34 percent to reach $149 billion from March 2016. This led to the Group’s loan to deposit ratio reaching 99 percent.
The Group’s prudent cost control policy and strong revenue generating capability allowed it to maintain an efficiency ratio (cost to income ratio) of 28.9 percent, which is considered one of the best ratios among financial institutions in the region.
QNB Group was able to maintain the ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans at 1.8 percent and coverage ratio at 114 percent as at 31 March 2017, a level considered one of the best amongst financial institutions in the MEA region, reflecting the high quality of the Group’s loan book and the effective management of credit risk.
Total Equity increased by 17 percent from March 2016 to reach $20 billion as at March 31, 2017. Earnings per Share reached $1.0, compared to $0.9 in March 2016.
Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) calculated as per the QCB and Basel III requirements stood at 15.7 percent as at March 31, 2017, higher than the regulatory minimum requirements of the Qatar Central Bank and Basel Committee.
The Group says it is keen to maintain a strong capitalisation in order to support future strategic plans.
In March 2017, QNB launched its operations in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. This branch is a significant milestone in QNB Group’s strategy of international expansion.
Based on the Group’s continuous stellar performance and its diversified international presence, QNB is now the most valuable banking brand in the MEA region, with the value of its brand increased to $3.8 billion to rise to the 60th place globally, in addition to attaining the highest rating of AA+ in brand strength.
QNB Group is present, through its subsidiaries and associate companies, in more than 30 countries and 3 continents providing a comprehensive range of products and services. The total number of staff for the Group is more than 28,000 operating from 1,250 locations and 4,300 ATMs serving more than 21 million customers.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Aduragbemi Omiyale