The Bahrain-based TAIB Investment Bank reported a net profit of $0.5 million for the first three months of 2002. The bank’s total operating income for the first quarter, which ended March 31, 2002, was $4.3 million, compared to $3.8 million for the same period last year. The bank’s operating costs were lowered by 15 percent to $3.6 million from $4.2 million during the corresponding period of FY00.
“In an international market troubled by economic and political uncertainties, we are pleased to have been able to show positive results in the first quarter, which is traditionally a slow quarter for investment banks,” stated Iqbal Mamdani, vice chairman and chief executive officer at TAIB Bank.
Income was generated from fees and commissions, increased returns on real estate investments in the United Kingdom and from trading securities. During FY2001, Taib Bank structured three new real estate properties in the United Kingdom and in the United States, for a total value of $51.7 million.
Despite the turmoil in the capital markets, three out of 10 TAIB funds performed better than their respective benchmark indices, reported a bank press release. The Bank will continue to be cautious on private equity transactions for at least another quarter, until market conditions improve, Mamdani stated.
During the full FY01, Taib Bank saw its profit drop to $10.2 million, down from the $15.5 million earned in FY00. The bank’s total assets fell from $545 million to $540 million.
TAIB Bank is an international investment bank conducting its activities in the United States, the United Kingdom and in the regional markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Indian sub-continent, Turkey and Central Asia. 17 percent of the bank’s shares are held by its management, another five percent are owned by foreigners and the rest of the shares are traded on the Bahrain Stock Exchange. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
