Barwa Bank Group discloses its financial statement for the first quarter of 2018

Barwa Bank Group disclosed its financial statements for the first quarter ending 31st March 2018, where the Group has recorded a net profit of QAR 208.7 million, representing an increase of 15% as compared to the same period in 2017.

His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman and Managing Director of Barwa Bank Group, said: “The Group has succeeded in achieving strong and steady results for the first three months of the year, by taking advantage of the extensive customer base that the Group has been able to build over the past years. This also came in line with the management’s ability to adapt to the current market conditions by working with dynamism and flexibility, which reflected positively on all financial indicators. The Group achieved a return on equity of 11.7%”.

HE the Chairman expressed his confidence in Barwa Bank Group’s commitment to continue delivering its responsibilities this year by working hard on strengthening its position across the Islamic banking sector in Qatar and exerting greater efforts to support the national economy in achieving the vision of His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar, and translating the ambitions of the Government’s leadership.

From his part, Mr. Khalid Al Subaie, Group Chief Executive Officer at Barwa Bank Group said that the business model of the Group, the diversity of income sources along with the variety of its innovative products which suit all customers segments, have enabled the bank to increase its financing revenues by 9.5% exceeding QAR 517 million as well as its commission revenues exceeding QAR 55 million, which recorded an increase of 41%. In addition, the Group’s total assets have increased by 9.5%, exceeding QAR 48.8 billion, which was supported by a significant rise in customer deposits of 6.6% reaching QAR 31.5 billion.

Mr. Al Subaie thanked all customers for their continuous support, trust and loyalty, while praising the effort and hard work of Barwa Bank Group’s management and staff in delivering an expectional banking service with professionalism and commitment. He also valued Qatar Central Bank continuous support to the Group. 

Products and Services

The Group’s positive financial results come in line with its committed to improve the products and services provided to customers and to benefit from the rapid development of technologies that provide the greatest flexibility and ease of transactions, while aiming to deliver distinguished Shari’ah compliant services equivalent to international standards.

Recently, Barwa Bank launched, in collaboration with the artist Ahmed Al Maadeed, its ‘Al Majd’ initiative, offering its new and current clients an exceptional banking package with feature-rich services and unique privileges. “Al Majd” package introduced a unique edition of three cards, including a debit card, and credit cards that carried an innovative design. Furthermore, in March this year, the Bank launched its new salary transfer promotional campaign offering customers a chance to win cash and other rewards that sum up to QAR 1 million. Likewise, the Bank has joined hands with Visa to offer its customers a chance to win a trip to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In addition, the Bank offers Thara’a account holders the chance to benefit from cash rewards up to 1,000,000 Qatar riyals, a first for Islamic banks in Qatar. Thara’a account holders are eligible to a number of periodic draws for cash prizes. Totaling 3,300,000 Qatari riyals, Thara’a cash rewards are distributed on both a monthly and biannual basis to customers holding a minimum balance of 10,000 Qatari riyals.

Future plans

Moving forward, Barwa Bank will continue focusing on its expansion plans across the Qatari market in 2018, given the significant opportunities the market provides. Furthermore, the Group will spare no effort to gain the largest possible share of financing infrastructure projects and providing all possible support to contribute to the growth of the country's economy, backing the QNV2030 and its development pillars.

Qatarization

Barwa Bank sustains a resourceful strategy to develop all its employees with a focus on its Qatari human capital. The Group has a strategic plan for recruiting and retaining capable and qualified Qatari employees and prepare them for joining the leadership team. A number of students are now pursuing their studies on a scholarship funded by the Group, in specializations consonant with the Group’s business requirements. The group is maintaining a ratio of more than 30% Qatarization.