Al Rayan Bank (formerly Islamic Bank of Britain), a subsidiary of Masraf Al Rayan, has reported a profit after tax of £1.2mn in 2014.
The London-based lender registered an 86% increase in total customer financing to £450.3mn, which include home purchase financing that rose 50% to £311.6mn and commercial property finance that increased by 304% to £138.5mn; translating as a 168% rise in operating income to £11.8mn. There was also a 59% increase in retail deposits to £509.8mn and 53% in wholesale deposits to £31.7mn.
The bank, in which Masraf Al Rayan pumped £75mn additional investment, showed an increase in Core Tier 1 capital ratio to 36.1% in 2014 compared to 18.8% in the previous year. “The board believes that stakeholders in the bank including shareholders, customers and employees have good reason to be optimistic about its future prospects. This is based on Al Rayan Bank having a clear and balanced strategy to increase assets, liabilities and shareholder value, having a strong risk culture and a regulatory capital position that is well above the regulatory requirement,” its newly appointed chairman Robert Sharpe said.
Al Rayan Bank chief executive Sultan Choudhury said increasing consumer confidence, the continued strength of the housing market and opportunities to provide property finance to the commercial sector as well as to investors in the Gulf has enabled it to post the best results to date.
“This has all been underpinned by the strong financial and strategic support of the parent company, Masraf Al Rayan. We look forward to even better results in 2015,” he added.
Al Rayan Bank, which opened its doors in 2004 as the UK’s first wholly Shariah-compliant retail bank, currently has over 50,000 retail, business and premier customers and has earned a reputation for providing innovative products which appeal to people of any faith.
