Alawwal Bank Reports 2018 Full Year Profit of Sar 1,130 Million

Press release

Published February 12th, 2019 - 01:25 GMT

Alawwal bank’s total assets amounted to SAR 82 billion, down 17.9% compared to the previous year.

Alawwal bank recorded net profit of SAR 1,130 million for the financial year ending 31 December 2018. The year ended with net profit for the final quarter up by 10.3% vs Q3, following strong operating income and stable costs.

At the end of 2018, Alawwal bank’s total assets amounted to SAR 82 billion, down 17.9% compared to the previous year. Loans and advances for the bank totalled SAR 57.8 billion for 2018, down -9.2% on 2017.

Eng Mubarak Al-Khafra, Chairman, Alawwal bank, said: “Alawwal bank has been making banking history in the Kingdom ever since it first opened its doors in 1926. This is set to continue as we look forward to completing the potential merger with Saudi British Bank (SABB) in the first half of 2019. Alawwal bank and SABB will be a strong and exciting combination having capacity and scale to support the ambitions under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program.”

Soren Nikolajsen, Managing Director, Alawwal bank, added: “2018 has been a challenging year, yet we have continued our focus on maintaining cost controls in line with 2017, as well as strengthening our capital, liquidity positions and loans coverage ratios. Our Tier 1 capital and total capital adequacy ratios are now the strongest they have been in the bank’s history.”

Nikolajsen added: “The bank has further strengthened its position as the leading provider of digital banking services in the Kingdom. Popular new services such as faster access to mobile banking through fingerprint and face recognition have helped increase online and mobile transactions by 27% in 2018, with the total number of customers using the bank’s digital services also up 27%.”

Background Information

Alawwal Bank

Over the years we have played an integral role in supporting the leaders of the Kingdom and the growth of the Saudi economy. We have always put our customers first and remain committed to improving their individual banking experiences by delivering service excellence and increasingly advanced technologies. We introduced the first smart credit card to the market, and continue to integrate new technologies at our branches and operations.

Our customers always feel secure in the knowledge that their money is in safe hands. Having maintained a strong capital base for the past 90 years, we are consistently among the Kingdom’s leading banks in earnings growth and return on average equity.