Global Finance names QIB as the safest Islamic Bank in Qatar

Global Finance names QIB as the safest Islamic Bank in Qatar

Global Finance evaluates the ratings and total assets of the key players in each region

Doha, Qatar: For the second year in a row, New York-based Global Finance Magazine has named Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) the safest Islamic Bank in Qatar in 2018. Marking a new addition to its list of achievements, QIB was also recognized as the 2nd safest Bank in Qatar and the 11th safest Bank in the Middle East.

Global Finance evaluates the ratings and total assets of the key players in each region, providing an overview of which financial institutions offer the greatest safety for customers and stakeholders. The rankings are recognized as a trusted standard of financial safety for over 25 years. The Banks were selected through an evaluation of long-term foreign currency ratings from Moody’s, Fitch, and company reports.

The ranking reflects QIB‘s successful growth strategy, prudent financing policies, and its disciplined approach to risk management. Over the past few years, QIB‘s leadership has been working on a business strategy to build a long-lasting competitive advantage by introducing new products and services, boosting service performance, upgrading the Bank’s risk management framework, and migrating to new technology platforms that allow the Bank to better serve its customers. The successful implementation of this strategy has contributed to the Bank’s leading position in Qatar and the region.

QIB’s Group CEO, Mr. Bassel Gamal commented on the news: ‘Recognition from a trusted source like Global Finance is a testament that our business approach, to place the financial safety of our customers first, is working. We are in business to support the growth of the country and the prosperity of all the people living and working in Qatar. To do so successfully, we need to be a responsible Bank in everything we do. That is why we apply a well-thought, conservative risk management approach from the way we provide credit and ensure our own funding to the introduction of new innovative digital services which are rigorously tested and retested before we made them available to our customers.’   

In the first nine months of 2018, QIB achieved a net profit of QR2,005.3 million, representing a growth of 13% for the same period in 2017. Total assets of the Bank have increased by 1.4% compared to December 2017, and now stand out QR152.5 billion. Financing activities have reached QR106.4 billion and have grown by 3.7% compared to December 2017. Total income for the nine months period, ending in 30 September 2018, was QR 5,108 million, registering 8.2% growth compared to QR 4,722 million for the same period in 2017, reflecting a healthy growth in the Bank’s core operating activities.

In June 2018, Fitch Ratings affirmed Qatar Islamic Bank at ‘A’ with a stable outlook, and Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) affirmed long-term deposit ratings to QIB at ‘A1’. In April 2018, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) affirmed the Bank’s credit rating at ‘A-‘, and Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI) has affirmed the Bank’s Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of ‘A’.

The ‘Middle East’s Top 50 Safest Banks’ list was published in the November 2018 issue of Global Finance, an industry-leading magazine that provides a valuable source of financial industry data to 192 countries. Each year the magazine releases its ‘Safest Banks’ ratings covering the global and emerging markets.