Strong profitability and profit growth along with important strategic acquisitions, such as that of London-based wealth management company Ansbacher, enabled Qatar National Bank (QNB) to become the leading bank in Qatar. In the first six months of 2005, net profits reached Qr705m ($193.2m), a 71% increase over last year while ROE rose to 30.5%.
Besides the acquisition of Ansbacher, which has submitted its application to operate in the newly-established Qatar Financial Centre, QNB has also taken a 25% stake in Mansour Bank, a newly-formed Iraqi bank that is due to start operations next year. QNB also plans to enter the Syrian and Iranian markets through a new private bank in Syria, Syria and Gulf Bank, and through a representative office in Iran that is due to be operational in the coming year. It will also continue its presence in both London and Paris.
QNB, which has more banking assets than the rest of the Qatar banking sector grouped together, has also been active in major regional financings such as the $3.6bn QatarGas II financing and $530m in Islamic facilities.
Ali Sharif Al Emadi, acting CEO at QNB, says: “I am delighted that QNB has received the Bank of the Year in Qatar accolade. Our recent successes underline the strong performance of QNB.”
