RIYADH, 14 October — Saudi Arabia’s Riyad Bank has announced a profit of SR1.008 billion ($268.8 million) for the first nine months of the current year, which represent 17.8 percent increase over the same period a year before. The terror attacks on the US have had no adverse impact on the business of Riyad Bank, which fared well in the third quarter of 2001 despite the crisis following the attacks.
"The continued improvements in the bank’s products and customer services coupled with efficient business processes enabled the bank to post significant growth in its income", said a press statement released by Riyad Bank here today. The bank said that its operating income grew to SR2.029 billion, up by 15.3 percent, during the first nine months compared to the same period last year. The bank’s growth in income positively impacted the financial ratios and return on equity increased to 14.6 percent during the first nine months of the current year against 13 percent during the same period last year. This is in addition to the return on assets, which increased by two percent compared to 1.8 percent during the same period.
Referring to the growth of Riyad Bank on other fronts, the statement said that the balance sheet size grew to SR66.2 billion, an increase of 6.2 percent over the same period last year The investment and trading portfolios collectively grew to SR27.7 billion against SR26.7 billion last year. The bank continued to maintain the high quality of its loan portfolio, which reached SR20.5 billion on Sept. 30, 2001.
The statement said that shareholders’ equity increased to SR9.2 billion from SR8.8 billion during the same period. It also noted that Riyad Bank maintains high levels of liquidity in order to service its customers’ needs and to meet any contingencies. The decline in the world’s stock and bonds market, which was caused by terror attacks on the US, had a negative impact on the bank’s trading portfolio.