Acting general manager Saeed Alkhayareen of QIB’s Corporate Banking Group receives the award from Qatar Chamber vice chairman Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Tawar al-Kuwari.
Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has been named “Islamic Bank of the Year” at the inaugural Qatar Enterprise Agility Awards organised by Entrepreneur Magazine.
Qatar Chamber vice chairman Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Tawar al-Kuwari presented the award to acting general manager Saeed Alkhayareen of QIB’s Corporate Banking Group in a ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Doha.
This year, QIB was also awarded the “Islamic Bank of the Year” by international publications such as Euromoney and The Banker.
Through its “Aamaly” programme, QIB is committed to servicing the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector and align the bank’s vision with the Qatar National Vision 2030 to contribute to the country’s sustainable growth.
The growth in the bank’s SME financing was a direct result of the “Aamaly” programme, launched at the beginning of 2013. The programme identified economic sectors that fell under the SME category and provided tailor-made banking services, as well as financial offers and incentives that also included the manufacturing, trading services, and contracting sectors.
The SME sector in Qatar has huge potential, and is expected to grow rapidly to play an important part in Qatar’s overall growth, the bank said.
QIB already enjoys a sizeable corporate and retail base and it also has a strong branch presence across the country to meet its customers’ growing requirements, it said. Following the launch of “Aamaly,” QIB has witnessed positive results across the board on both the financial and service levels.
For the first six months of the year (ending June 30), QIB’s net profits reached QR75mn, representing a 15% growth compared to the same period in 2013. The bank’s total assets now stand at QR89.1bn or a 20% increase compared to June 2013.
Financing activities have shown significant growth of 32% compared to results recorded in June 2013. Customer deposits registered a strong 33% growth compared to June 2013 allowing the bank to improve significantly its liquidity positions.
The total income of the bank as of June 2014 amounted to QR1.8bn representing an 18% increase compared to the same period last year. Income from financing activities was the primary growth driver at QR1.2bn for the same period representing a 23% increase compared to June 2013.
Net commission and fees income have also registered a strong growth to reach QR191mn as of June 2014 or a 42% increase compared to June 2013.
