National Bank of Kuwait profits declined by 38.6% to 246.3 million dinars ($ 812.3 million) in 2020, compared to 401.3 million dinars (1.3 billion dollars) In the year 2019.
According to Arabiya Net, the bank said in a statement that total assets as at the end of December of 2020 rose by 1.5% on an annual basis, to reach 29.7 billion dinars ( $ 98 billion).
> Customer deposits rose by 7.4% year-on-year to reach 17.1 billion dinars ($ 56.4 billion), and total loans and advances reached 17.5 billion dinars ($ 57.7 billion). By the end of December of the year 2020, up by 5.7% over the levels of the previous year.
In terms of dividends, the board of directors decided to recommend distributing 20 fils per share as cash dividends to shareholders, representing the total value of the cash dividends 55.6% of net profits.
The Board of Directors has also recommended the distribution of bonus shares of 5%, and these proposed dividends are subject to approval of the Ordinary General Assembly scheduled to be held in March 2021.
and earnings per share reached 32 fils per share at the end of the year, compared to 57 fils at the end of 2019, while total shareholders' equity reached 3.2 billion dinars (10.5 billion dollars) at the end of the year 2020.
Commenting on the bank's annual financial results, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Kuwait, Nasser Musaed Al-Sayer, said: We achieved good profits in 2020 despite the circumstances left by the pandemic. COVID-19, taking advantage of the diversity of our business model, the positive impact of our digital strategy, as well as the dedication of our employees during these challenging circumstances.
Al-Sayer stressed that 2020 was a year full of unprecedented challenges and a state of uncertainty, but Al-Watani succeeded in facing these challenges thanks to the wise management of risks and the bank's solidity The strength of his financial position, coupled with an approach based on supporting clients and the communities in which he operates.
He explained that Boubyan Bank, the Islamic arm of the group, in addition to the bank’s international operations, continued to play an important role in mitigating risks and diversifying sources of income.
Al-Sayer said that the bank's strong profits and its solid capital base provided enough flexibility to maintain dividends to shareholders, indicating that the bank in 2020 strengthened its capital levels through issuing bonds Denominated in dinars and others in dollars, which witnessed a great turnout, reflecting the confidence of international investors, to support these levels in the bank's ability to increase investment ...
