JEDDAH: The National Commercial Bank (NCB) announced that the bank achieved a net income of SR1.05 billion for the first quarter of 2009, 41.2 percent below the results of Q1, 2008. In line with NCB’s conservative approach, the bank continued to build provisions for investments and loans and advances as a prudent measure to safeguard the strength of its assets. The bank’s core activities recorded robust growth, with net special commission income rising by 16.7 percent and fees from banking services by 8.2 percent.
Compared with Q1, 2008, loans and advances increased by 14.6 percent to SR101.93 billion, customer deposits by 41.8 percent to SR204.04 billion and total assets by 16.2 percent to SR250.69 billion. Total shareholders’ equity amounted to SR26.75 billion at the end of Q1, 2009.
NCB Chairman Abdullah Bahamdan commenting on the bank’s results expressed his optimism about economic conditions in Saudi Arabia and the bank’s strategy to expand its core activities. He also expressed his deep gratitude to the bank’s clients, shareholders, board of directors and staff for their continued support of NCB.