Bahrain Islamic Bank's third quarter numbers show 30 percent profit increase

Third quarter numbers for Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) show a 30 percent jump in net profit over the first nine months of 2014, posting $22.8 million in gains even after a $19.3 million deduction for net provisions.

During the same period last year, the financial institution posted $17.5 million in net profits after reserving $16.2 million for net provisions.

The bank’s chairman, Abdul Razak Al Qassim, said the institution’s board of directors attributes the growth rate to a new banking strategy put in place at BisB last year. The strategy focuses on jettisoning non-generating assets and lowering the rates of non-performing loans while attempting to strengthen the bank’s core Islamic financing services.

"The Bank has registered BHD 31.4 million as net operating profit in the first nine months of the current year compared to BHD 29.1 million for same period last year," Al Qassim said. "The Board has decided to take BHD 7.3 million as net provisions compared to BHD 6.1 million for the same period last year. The Bank has recorded BHD 8.6 million as net profit after provisions, compared to BHD 6.6 million as net profit for the same period last year, an increase of 30 percent."

BisB shareholders recently approved a capital increase to keep the bank’s liquidity and capital levels within the bounds defined by Bahrain’s central banks while giving BisB the capacity to grow.

BisB CEO Hassan Amin Jarrar said part of the bank’s success as of late is the effort put into Islamic financial instruments, such as Sukuks that have grown by 20 percent since last year.

The bank’s strategy also calls for continuing to develop employee assets. BisB recently added a group of new experienced managers. The goal, Jarrar said, is to have those experienced leaders spearhead the transformation of existing employees.