Arab Bank records $415.2m net income in first half

AMMAN — Arab Bank Group announced its results for the first half of 2017, reporting a net income after tax of $415.2 million compared to $424.9 million for the corresponding period of 2016, according to a bank statement released on Saturday. 

The positive results were driven by growth in its revenues, the statement said. 

Its net operating income before provisions and taxes reached $593.5 million compared to $591.3 million. 

Excluding the effect of the devaluations of several Arab and foreign currencies, the group’s net operating income grew by 7 per cent, according to the statement. 

Customer deposits stood at $33.5 billion while the bank’s loans and advances increased by 4 per cent to reach $24.7 billion.

Sabih Masri, chairman of the board of directors said the strong performance of Arab Bank Group confirms its success in dealing with the challenging operating environment.

Commenting on the results, Nemeh Sabbagh, the bank’s chief executive officer, said despite geopolitical and macro economic uncertainties in the region, the underlying performance of Arab Bank Group for the six months period has been strong, recording solid growth.