Manama: Al Baraka Bank Algeria, a subsidiary banking unit of Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C. (ABG), reported its net income reaching AD 3.1 billion ($38 million) for the first nine months of 2014, representing an increase of 3.7% compared to the same period in 2014.
The bank said that its total assets increased by 1%, financings and investments by 26% and deposits by 3.5% as at the end of 2014 compared to the end of 2013.
“The Bank was able, through expanding in products and services and diversifying income sources, to maintain the income at good levels, despite the cancellation or putting ceilings on some commissions related to foreign trade. While total operating income reached AD 5.4 billion (US$ 66 million) in the first nine months of 2014, the Bank achieved AD 3.4 billion as a net operating income during the same period, which highlighted the Bank’s ability to diversify its income sources from currencies, commissions and other sources.”
The financial results of the Bank showed that as at the end of September 2014, the Bank’s assets grew by 1% to reach AD 158.8 billion (US$ 1.9 billion), compared to December 2013. Total financings and investments grew significantly by 26% to reach AD 84 billion (US$ 1.02 million) as at the end September 2014 compared to December 2013. Customer deposits and equity of investment accountholders increased by 3.5% to reach AD 130 billion (US$ 1.6 billion) as at the end September 2014 compared to December 2013, funding 82% of the Bank’s total assets. Shareholder equity amounted to AD 21.4 billion (US$ 261 million) as at the end of September 2014.
Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Baraka Bank Algeria and President and Chief Executive of Al Baraka Banking Group applauded the results and praised the great efforts made by the executive management of the Bank and all of its employees to achieve them.
“The Bank’s performance during the past period of 2014 was good in general. It is a proof that the Bank is well established in the Algerian market. The Bank was able to build upon its strong financial resources and the strong support of the parent company, Al Baraka Banking Group, to expand its services network, enhance its human resources and diversify the services and products. These steps enabled the Bank to make the most of the opportunities available in the promising Algerian market,” Adnan Ahmed Yousif, added.
“During the past period of 2014, the Bank opened two new branches to bring the total branches to 28, employing 919 staff. Al Baraka Algeria intends, under a 5-year strategy, to increase the number of branches to 50 by 2019,” he said.
Mohammed Seddik Hafid, Board Member and General Manager of the Bank said that the Bank, and thanks to its capital and human capabilities, was able to maximize its benefits from the strong performance of the Algerian economy by offering new products and services as well as expanding ATM service and branch network in which there is ATM providing integrated services, including payment services, money transfer and account data.
“We are also working on the launch of SMS and electronic banking services. At the same time, the Bank continued to develop the IT network and to consolidate it with the parent company network in order to maximize the benefit of technical support and information obtained from the Group.”
In 2014 Al Baraka Algeria was honored with the award ‘Best Islamic Financial Institution in Algeria’ by Global Finance Magazine.
Al Baraka Banking Group (B.S.C) is licensed as an Islamic wholesale bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain, listed on Bahrain Bourse and Nasdaq Dubai stock exchanges. It is a leading international Islamic banking group providing its unique services in countries with a population totalling around one billion. The authorized capital of Al Baraka is US$ 1.5 billion, while total equity is at about US$ 2billion.
The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of subsidiary banking units and representative offices in fifteen countries, which in turn provide their services through over 500 branches. Al Baraka currently has a strong presence in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan, Bahrain, Pakistan, South Africa, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, including two representative offices in Indonesia and Libya.