He said Vice Chairman and Group CEO of National Bank of Kuwait, Issam Al-Sager, The geographical distribution contributed to the bank’s record profits during the year 2022, indicating that provisions declined with the improvement of the business environment.
Al-Saqer added, in a telephone interview with Al-Arabiya, that the bank had taken sufficient provisions once morest the decline in the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound this year, pointing out that the decline in the exchange rate negatively affects profits.
He pointed out that the volume of the bank’s business in Egypt represents only 5% of the balance sheet of the National Bank of Kuwait.
Al-Sager stated that the bank achieved the highest annual profits in its history during the past year, pointing to the growth in operating profits following increasing net operating revenues by more than 12% on an annual basis.
Al-Sager explained that the bank’s flexible business model and the strength of its financial position helped it achieve the maximum possible benefit from the available opportunities.
He pointed out that the bank’s international operations recorded 26% of the annual profits.
Regarding the decline in provisions by 65% in 2022, Al-Sager said, “There is no longer a need for these precautionary provisions that were built during the exceptional period. This decline coincided with the bank’s application of high standards of asset quality and capital adequacy rates that exceed the required regulatory levels.”
He pointed out that the percentage of non-performing loans rose to 1.2% of the bank’s loan portfolio, but it is still within very low rates.
Yesterday, Sunday, the bank announced that its net profit increased by 25.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 134.85 million dinars ($441.91 million), compared to 107.43 million dinars a year earlier.
And the bank stated, in a statement to the Kuwait Stock Exchange, that its annual net profit amounted to 509.085 million dinars last year, compared to 362.249 million dinars in 2021, an increase of 40.5%.
