DOHA, QATAR: Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has reconfirmed its ongoing positive rating with Capital Intelligence (CI) Ratings today announcing the Bank’s Long-Term and Short-Term Ratings of ‘A+’, and ‘A1’ respectively, with a stable outlook.
Capital Intelligence’s Credit Rating Report reaffirmed QIB’s strong franchise and market position, with 49% of total assets of listed Islamic banks in Qatar. QIB continues to be the largest Islamic bank in Qatar, with good liquidity and funding profile, and robust capitalization, in addition to having solid and stable asset quality with strong loss absorption capacity, and strong and consistent profitability, despite the drop in oil prices, and the economic impacts of the pandemic.
The report also stated that QIB continues to have robust capitalization in a well-capitalized Qatari banking system, in addition the non-performing financing (NPF) ratio remained moderate over the last seven years, and among the lowest of its peer group.
The report also said that QIB’s profitability is strong, and its earnings quality is good, with the Bank posting consistent results. CI added that QIB’s profitability was better than sector average, supported by the Bank’s broadly stable net financing margins (NFMs), which remained above average, and continued efficiency gains.
Based on the report, QIB has a good liquidity and funding profile, largely funded by customer deposits, mainly by diversified and stable retail deposits, and with dependence on foreign funding relatively low, the proportion of nondeposit funding is lower than other banks in Qatar.
Capital Intelligence affirmed QIB’s solid capitalization and the good quality of capital, stating that it is roughly in line with its peer group. Moreover, QIB’s CET-1 ratio is well above the minimum requirement of the QCB based on international standards (Basel III), while its Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) comfortably exceeds QCB’s requirements.
Commenting on the rating, Mr. Bassel Gamal, QIB’s Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “The reaffirmation of our ratings by Capital Intelligence emphasizes our successful business strategy and cements our position as one of the leading banks in Qatar. QIB maintained a strong financial position throughout the years, and we will continue to invest in innovation and grow in line with our business strategy and our effective risk management framework contributing to the growth of the local economy.”
QIB’s latest results affirmed its position as one of the leading banks in the region. QIB’s net profit in 2021 amounted to QAR 3,555.3 million, a growth rate of 16% compared to 2020. Its assets increased by 11.2% from QAR 174 billion in 2020 to QAR 194 billion in 2021. Customer deposits grew by 11% reaching QAR 131 billion compared to QAR 118 billion in 2020. Moreover, the Bank was able to maintain the ratio of non-performing financing assets to total financing assets around 1.8%, one of the lowest in the banking industry.
QIB operates a universal banking model and although it has subsidiaries and partners abroad, the business focus is very much on Qatar. The Bank has a domestic network of 22 branches and offices, and over 174 ATMs and CDMs.