Commercial Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Joseph Abraham and other officials during an online press conference yesterday.
The Commercial Bank, its subsidiaries and associates (Group) yesterday reported a net profit of QR1.3bn for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to QR2.02bn for the same period in 2019. The Bank is planning to issue five-year bond worth $500m in 2021, said its senior official in an online press conference held yesterday
The Board of Directors proposed a dividend distribution to shareholders of QR0.1 per share i.e. 10 percent of the nominal share value.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Commercial Bank, Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali bin Jabor Al Thani, said, “Qatar has again demonstrated resilience with its successful management of the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the efforts of our leadership and the measures implemented to mitigate the pandemic’s health and economic impact on the country. Consequently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that Qatar’s GDP will grow 2.7 percent in 2021. The IMF also noted that the country’s prudent budgetary decisions will keep its fiscal gap in check.
“During these challenging times it has been a key priority for Commercial Bank to support the nation’s economy by postponing loan instalments and interest payments, providing corporates and SMEs in affected sectors with concessionary interest rates and participating in the National Response Guarantee programme. Commercial Bank remains committed to using its resources to bring world-class banking solutions and innovative products to Qatar in support of the private sector,” he said.
Commercial Bank’s Vice Chairman, Hussain Alfardan, added, “The implementation of Commercial Bank’s five-year strategic plan has provided us with a strong platform from which to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our investments in technology enabled us to seamlessly transition to working from home during movement restrictions whilst providing our customers with uninterrupted access to our services through enhanced digital services. Furthermore, focusing on prudent risk management allowed us to manage our risk profile during these unusual times as recognised by Fitch Ratings which affirmed our ‘A’ long-term issuer default rating with a stable outlook for the Bank.”
Operating profit for the Group increased by 0.7 percent (14.1 percent on normalised basis) to QR3,140.8m for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to QR3,118.6m (normalised QR2,752.8m) achieved in the same period in 2019. P2
