[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]QNB Group, the World’s Strongest Bank and the leading bank in the Middle East and North Africa, announced its results for the three months ended 31 March 2014. These results include the financial results of QNB ALAHLI in Egypt.

For the three months of 2014 Net Profit was QR2.4 billion (USD668 million), up by 13.7% compared to last year.

The Group’s prudent cost control policy and strong revenue generating capability allowed it to maintain an efficiency ratio (cost to income ratio) of 21.7%, which is considered one of the best ratios among financial institutions in the region.

Total assets increased by 20.6% from March 2013 to reach QR458 billion (USD125.9 billion), the highest ever achieved by the Group. This was the result of a strong growth rate of 22.5% in loans and advances to reach QR317 billion (USD87.1 billion).

The Group was able to maintain the ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans at 1.6%, a level considered one of the lowest amongst banks in the Middle East and Africa, reflecting the high quality of the Group’s loan book and the effective management of credit risk. The Group’s conservative policy in regard to provisioning continued with the coverage ratio reaching 126% in March 2014.