Qatar National Bank posts 7% rise in Q1 profit

Qatar National Bank (QNB) reported a net profit of QAR 3.4 billion ($0.9 billion) in Q1 2018, a 7 percent increase year-on-year (YoY), the bank said in a statement.

Total assets increased by 12 percent YoY to a record high of QAR 834 billion ($229 billion), driven by a 12 percent rise in loans and advances to QAR 598 billion ($164 billion).

QNB was also successful in attracting funding, which resulted in customer funding increasing 12 percent to reach QAR604 billion (USD166 billion). This enabled the lender to maintain its loans to deposits ratio at 99 percent.

Meanwhile, the bank’s board of directors has recommended increasing the non-Qatari ownership threshold from 25 percent to 49 percent, as well as increasing single ownership cap from 2 percent to 5 percent.