DOHA (Yosefardi) – QNB Group, one of the World’s Strongest Banks and the leading bank in the Middle East and North Africa, continued to record robust growth in profitability, with Net Profit for 2014 amounting to QR10.5 billion (USD2.9 billion), up by 10.3% compared to 2013.
Total assets increased by 9.7% from December 2013 to reach QAR486 billion (USD133.6 billion), the highest ever achieved by the Group. This was the result of a strong growth rate of 8.8% in loans and advances to reach QAR338 billion (USD92.9 billion).
QNB Group increased customer funding by 7.4% to QAR360 billion (USD99.0 billion). This led to the Group’s loan to deposit ratio reaching 94%.
The bank’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR) stood at 16.2% as at 31 December 2014, higher than the regulatory minimum requirements of the Qatar Central Bank.
In the second half of 2014, QNB acquired a 19.4% stake (both ordinary and QNB convertible preference shares) in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (Ecobank), the leading pan-African bank.
In the second half of 2014, QNB also acquired an additional stake in QNB Indonesia, (rebranded from QNB Kesawan) to have a total stake of 82.59%.
QNB Group is present, through its subsidiaries and associate companies, in more than 26 countries and 3 continents providing a comprehensive range of products and services. The total number of staff is more than 14,500 operating from over 615 locations and with an ATM network of more than 1,310 machines.