São Paulo – The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) reported a net profit of US$ 514 million in the first half of this year, up 12.6% from the same period in 2013. Information was release this Wednesday (16th), in a communiqué by the organization.<\/p>\n
By the end of June, total assets of the bank amounted to US$ 71.1 billion, up 11.7% from June last year. Shareholders’ equity grew at 5.3% year-on-year to US$ 8.9 billion.<\/p>\n
“With net profits growing at 12.6% year-on-year, NBK continues delivering solid results. NBK’s conservative management practices and its strong financial position helped the bank sustain its profitability and resilient market position,” said Isam Al-Sager, NBK’s Group CEO, according to the statement.<\/p>\n
According to the businessman, Kuwait’s financial environment continues to show strong signs of recovery, reflecting a growth in economic activity and an improvement in the banking sector.<\/p>\n
“There is a noticeable improvement in the process of tendering, award and execution of the large infrastructure projects, which has also reflected positively on the overall private sector sentiment and accordingly on banks’ credit growth. This is a trend we hope will continue,” he added.<\/p>\n
According to the communiqué, the bank’s international operations have also kept strong in the period. Q1 2014, they contributed 23% to the group’s profit in spite of political changes which took place in some of the countries to bank operates in.<\/p>\n
NBK operates in 170 places, including countries in the Arab region such as Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, plus England, France, Switzerland, Singapore and the United States.<\/p>\n
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça<\/strong><\/p>\n