NBK’s Net Profits Rise 12.5 Percent

KUWAIT CITY, 12 April 2004 — The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the Gulf emirate’s largest bank, announced yesterday a 12.5 percent increase in net profits for the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2003. NBK posted $108 million on March 31 this year, up from $96 million in the same period last year, the bank said in a statement. Return on equity was 26 percent, down slightly on last year’s 26.2 percent, while return on assets stood at 2.38 percent, up on last year’s 2.2 percent.