Arab National Bank
Arab National Bank has again demonstrated the benefits of its turnaround strategy with further record profits in 2003 and the first quarter of 2004, making it the deserving winner of the bank of the year for two years in a row. In 2003, net profits grew by 31% to reach $204m and in the first quarter, profits were up 47% at $73m. The bank continues to show steadily increasing profitability with return on equity rising to 19.3%, above most of its peers. The bank has been able to expand revenues by 12% in each of the last three years, boosting fee income by 54% in 2003, as well as consistently reduce its cost/income to reach 43% last year. It also saw customer deposits expand by a healthy 20% and loans up by 26%. ANB was also awarded the best overall fund manager among Saudi banks by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) for the second year running, reflecting its strong funds performance and 25% growth in funds under management. “We are fortunate to be operating in a dynamic positive economic environment in Saudi Arabia,” says CEO Nemeh Sabbagh. “The comprehensive restructuring exercise and the fundamental review of our business model, which we undertook a few years ago, has allowed us to take advantage of this environment and to generate superior returns to our shareholders. Our goal is to continue to generate strong earnings growth on a sound sustainable basis.”
