Business & Money | Monday 30 July, 2018 4:00 pm |

Alawwal bank announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2018, reporting net income of SAR 254m down 11% vs Q1.

Net operating income for the quarter increased by 6.3% to SAR 571m. Non Funded Income had a particularly strong quarter, up 10% from Q1. 

Q2 saw Alawwal bank make further progress on cost efficiency and controls. Total operating expenses, excluding impairment charges, were down by 5.2% quarter-on-quarter. The bank’s cost income ratio was at 34.9% in Q2, an improvement from 37.5% the previous quarter. 

Alawwal bank’s capital position continued to strengthen. Total capital adequacy ratio reached record levels in Q2, increasing 67 basis points from Q1 to 22.4%. Tier 1 capital was up 61basis points from Q1 to 18.0%.

Alawwal bank’s Managing Director, Soren Nikolajsen said, “While economic activity continues to be a little slower than we would like, we have responded well by actively managing our cost base. The bank is well placed to help our customers take advantage of growth opportunities ahead as Vision 2030 transforms the Kingdom’s economy.”

“Our programme of digital innovation continues to get a great response from customers. We’ve recently added fingerprint authentication to access our mobile app and customers can now save time by updating their National ID online. We’re constantly challenging ourselves to make banking easier in an increasingly digital world and have plenty of new initiatives on the way.” 

Net income was affected by higher impairment charges, which increased by SAR 66m from the previous quarter. Alawwal bank ended the second quarter with total assets of SAR 84.9 billion, down 4.4% quarter-on-quarter.