RIYADH, 13 July 2005 — Saudi Arabia’s biggest bank, National Commercial Bank, said yesterday its first-half net profits rose 39 percent to SR2.43 billion ($648 million).
The bank, which is mainly state-owned, said customer deposits grew 7 percent to SR103.75 billion and total assets rose 11 percent to SR139.33 billion. NCB is the latest Saudi bank to report strong growth in the first six months of the year. High oil prices have injected cash into the economy and stimulated investor confidence in the world’s biggest oil exporter over the last two years. Net loans and advances rose 27.1 percent to SR71.83 billion and earnings per share reached SR20.3, NCB said. Return on average equity was 30.4 percent — down from 31.1 percent reported last year — and return on average assets hit 3.6 percent.