Qatar National Bank’s Q1 2023 profit up 7% to $1.1bn

QNB

Qatar National Bank (QNB), the largest lender by assets in the GCC, said that its first-quarter 2023 profit rose seven percent year-on-year on growth across a range of revenue sources despite turbulence in global markets.

Net profit for the three months ended March 31, 2023, climbed to QAR3.9 billion ($1.1 billion), up from QAR3.6 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

Total assets stood at QAR1.18 trillion at the end of the quarter, up six percent year-on-year, the bank said in a statement.

Loans and advances grew six percent to QAR810 billion, while its loan to deposit ratio was 97.9 percent. The bank’s non-performing loans ratio stood at 2.9 percent, rising from 2.3 percent a year earlier.

QNB Group’s capital adequacy ratio amounted to 19.3 percent as of March 31, 2023. In addition, the liquidity coverage ratio and net stable funding ratio was at 118 percent and 106 percent, respectively, as of March 31, 2023.

These ratios are higher than the regulatory minimum requirements of the Qatar Central Bank and Basel Committee.

In February, shareholders approved a recommendation by the bank’s board to distribute a cash dividend of 60 percent of the nominal share value, or QR0.60 per share.