Chairman of QIB, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani
Doha: QIB’s advanced digital channels played a key role in achieving business continuity, smoothly and effectively, said Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, Chairman of QIB. Addressing shareholders at the AGM which was held virtually on Monday, the Chairman said that QIB took a proactive response to the economic implications of the pandemic by postponing financial installments for SME’s and individual customers, as well as for all affected sectors, taking part in the COVID-19 National Guarantee Program, devised by Qatar and Qatar Central Bank.
The AGM approved increase of the limit for QIB’s USD Sukuk program to become $5bn instead of $4bn, subject to QCB approval.
In his speech, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, said that 2020 was an exceptional year at all levels, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies across the globe, as well as regionally and locally. “However, thanks to our commitment and hard work, in addition to the government’s support, and the exceptional efforts of the executive management team and staff, we have been able to successfully navigate the crisis, while managing the challenges faced by our customers and employees alike,” he said.
He added “We have successfully achieved business continuity, providing our products and services to our clients, individuals and corporate, thanks to the recent investments we have made in our digital transformation strategy. QIB’s advanced digital channels played a key role in achieving business continuity, smoothly and effectively, and we were praised for helping our customers, having demonstrated our leadership in providing the best digital banking services, whilst ensuring the safety of our customers, employees, and the community at large as our top priority.”
He said that the bank was also able to provide various types of support to the community, which significantly contributed to QIB receiving a number of awards regionally and globally, by specialized organizations and international publications, acknowledging our outstanding response to the pandemic, and safeguarding our operational environment.
“During the past year, we were also able to successfully complete issuances of Sukuks worth $1.65bn including first ever Formosa Sukuk to be issued by any bank and provide various alternatives to stabilize liquidity and maintain very good asset quality, with major improvements in information security, in full compliance with all regulatory guidelines,” he said.
He added that in light of all those achievements, despite the exceptional challenges faced this year, QIB has reiterated its position as one of the largest Islamic Banks in the region and one of the strongest across the globe, with assets growing from QR163.5bn in 2019 to QR174.4bn in 2020, and customer deposits also growing from QR111.6bn in 2019 to QR118.1bn, while the total income reached QR7,958m, registering 3 percent growth compared to year 2019.
“Within this positive context, QIB has achieved net profits for the fiscal year 2020 of QR3,065m, at same level as previous year’s results, despite the exceptional circumstances. Based on these results, the Board of Directors recommends your esteemed assembly to approve the distribution of cash dividends to shareholders at a ratio of 40%, at a rate of QR0.40 per share,” he said.
