AHLI UNITED BANK
Ahli United Bank (AUB) has continued its strategy of regional expansion in the pan-Gulf and Middle East region and, through acquisitions and integration in Bahrain, has produced record levels of growth in both net profits and assets in 2005 as well as improved profitability.
Through organic growth, increasing its stake in Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East to 75% and acquiring a 49% stake in Commercial Bank of Iraq, AUB’s net profits grew by 54.8% to $164.9m and its assets to increase by 70.7% to $13.9bn with RoE rising to 13.5%.
This year, the growth continues, with net profits up 37.2% to $107.8m in the first half, followed in August by the acquisition of 89.5% of Egypt’s Delta International by an AUB-led consortium.
Group CEO and managing director Adel El-Labban notes: “In 2006, AUB has further strengthened its position in Bahrain. Key initiatives have focused on retail banking and the launch of innovative features in credit cards, regional consumer loans and deposit schemes, as well as new and enhanced electronic delivery channels, resulting in increased income and lower costs.
“AUB has one of the largest networks of branch offices and ATMs in the country, providing diversified conventional and sharia-compliant services,” he says. “We also launched the country’s only 24/7 banking call centre, SMS banking and online share trading in international and regional stock markets. We were the first bank in Bahrain to install advanced fraud protection devices on our ATMs. The growth in our premium and private banking client base in Bahrain and regionally was a defining feature of the year.”
