Loan growth drives #Qatar National Bank profit jump | Reuters

Loan growth drives Qatar National Bank profit jump | Reuters

Qatar National Bank (QNB) (QNBK.QA), the Gulf's biggest lender, posted an 8% increase in nine-month net profit to 10.3 billion Qatari riyals ($2.83 billion), citing loan growth.

Loans and advances grew 7% in the period while total assets rose 10% to 1,084 billion riyals, it said in a statement.

The bank also said its drive for "operational efficiency" resulted in cost savings and combined with the improved revenue, helped improve the cost to income ratio to 22.5% from 24.2%.

Operating income in the first nine months of 2021 grew by 8% to 20.7 billion riyals, it said.

QNB said its non-performing loans ratio amounted to 2.3% as of Sept. 30, adding that was one of the lowest ratios among financial institutions in the Middle East and Africa.

The bank set aside 4.5 billion riyals for loan loss provisions, increasing its coverage ratio to 112%.

QNB, which serves more than 20 million customers, is 50% owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority.