Al-Majed: A remarkable start for 2019 and a motivation for further achievements

KUWAIT: Boubyan Bank has announced KD 14.6 million in net profits for Q1 2019, at a growth rate of 16 percent compared with the comparative period of the past year, while the earning per share amounts to 5.83 fils compared with 5.01 fils for the comparative period of 2018.

Adel Abdul Wahab Al-Majed, the Bank's Vice-Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, commented on such positive results by stating: "Thanks to Allah, the Almighty, we have had a good start this year, which is a strong one in a new year where we will spare no effort to make it remarkable similar to the past years, and to continue our journey of success and achievements."

He added: "It is no secret that achieving good growth rates at the beginning of any financial year is very important since it represents a strong motive for everyone towards more hard work and more successes. Our success is attributed to the Grace of Allah, the Almighty, in the first place, then to the efforts of our human resources, the trust of our shareholders and customers which helped us continue our journey towards achieving good growth rates which highlight the success of our strategy and plans to expand in the local market."

Al-Majed stated that all of the bank's main indicators witnessed a remarkable growth until the end of the first quarter where the total assets increased to KD 4.6 billion at a growth rate of 8 percent while the operating income increased to register KD 37 million at a growth rate of 9 percent in addition to the increase in customers' deposits by 7 percent, amounting to KD 3.8 billion.

He further added that the total equity of the bank increased to KD 406 million compared with KD 367 million last year and that there was a notable increase in the financing portfolio up to KD 3.4 billion with a growth rate of 13 percent in addition to the continuous growth of the bank's customers' base.

Al-Majed stated as well that the market share, in financing, increased generally to approximately 8.7 percent in the meantime, while Boubyan Bank's share of the retail finance increased specifically to approximately 11.3 percent. Besides, the bank recorded outstanding growth rates in the corporate credit portfolio which stood at 15 percent. This was achieved by attracting a number of operational companies known for their financial and economic creditworthiness while continuing to maintain the highest standards of credit quality, studying and diversifying risks.

The Best in Kuwait

Al-Majed added: "The bank continues its local achievements and has followed the journey it started before many years by being named the Best Islamic Bank in Kuwait in 2019 by Global Finance for the 4th year in a row due to the growth witnessed by the various indicators of the bank as well as the growth of its market shares."

"The bank takes pride in its record of awards and recognitions received in the past years, especially in the recent years where we have been recognized by regional and global institutions which are renowned for their fairness and the credibility of their choices which are based on numbers, financial results, and market achievements.", he added.

Al-Majed went on to add: "Such global recognitions put more responsibilities on the management to commit to the remarkable service levels we provide to our customers. We believe that creativity and innovation are the way to continue in our path of success."

Furthermore, Boubyan Bank has continued to top the pyramid of customer service in Kuwait, supported by earning two awards from Service Hero, the international consumer-driven customer satisfaction index. The bank received the First Place Award in Customer Service as a Country Winner, for the fourth time in addition to being named the Best Islamic Bank in Customer Service for the ninth year in a row since 2010.

Al-Majed stated: "The confidence of our customers was well-placed, and this was fruitful as it contributed to earning those two special awards in Kuwait. The bank will continue at that remarkable level of customer service."

Al-Majed went on to explain: "Customer service is an integral part of the bank's culture. It is no secret that almost all competitors offer similar products and services, however, the excellence and outperformance come through service and the way of dealing with customers, especially in Kuwait where customers have high expectations."

He went on to add: "Upon reviewing our products and services, one can see that aside from contributing, logically, to our profitability, they - most importantly - constitute a part of our social responsibility. This is because we contribute to emphasize the concepts of innovation and creativity in the first place besides minimizing the effort and time dedicated to obtaining the service or the product, thus, saving our customers the time which they may spend in doing more valuable activities such as family activities."

CSR and human resources

Al-Majed stated that the first quarter of this year marked a number of activities and events organized by the bank as a part of its corporate social responsibility to support the youth as well many other segments of the society in addition to sponsoring a number of sports activities.

"Boubyan Bank gives a special attention to its human resources as a part of the bank's approach being a developed and modern bank keeping up with international and regional changes through its young management, and the Consumer Banking Group, which comprises mostly of youths, testifies to this. The bank is known for placing the youth in leading roles, and this has further helped Boubyan Bank earn the award for the "Replacement and Nationalization of Manpower in Kuwait". The award is given on an annual basis by the GCC Council of Ministers of Labor for the best GCC institution," Al-Majed concluded.