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21/Mar/2010
Times of Oman
Ahli Bank SAOG plans to increase the share of its non-interest income to 40 per cent of its total income over a period of time from a little over 20 per cent at present as the government’s focus on infrastructure and other areas is expected to boost demand for fee-based corporate banking services, a senior official said.
Its total income was RO8.79 million in 2009 as against RO6.06 million in 2008. The bank plans to increase its non-interest income by focusing on services such as project finance, letters of credit and foreign exchange services, among others, chief executive officer, AbdulAziz M Al Balushi said. “Our corporate banking will continue to grow as the government has a lot of appetite for growth,” he said.
The bank expects future growth in sectors such as trading, construction, contracting, utilities, among others and its current corporate loan books did not have any delinquency, Al Balushi said on the sidelines of the bank’s annual general meeting (AGM). The bank’s overall ratio of net non-performing assets to net advances was 0.26 per cent.
The net interest income of the bank rose to 13.67 million in 2009, up from RO11.32 million in 2008. “There will be pressure in our net interest margin when competition continues to intensify,” he said.
A 50 basis point movement in interest rate either ways would impact the bank’s net interest income to the extent of RO405,000 while a 100 basis point movement would impact it to the extent of RO811,000, as per prognosis given in the bank’s annual report.
However, the bank would “maintain status-quo” with respect to its branch expansion and would be cautious towards retail loans, which along with mortgage loans, constitute more than half of its total loan book, he said adding it plans to bring down the ratio of retail and mortgage loans over a period of time. It currently has 12 branches across the Sultanate.
The bank’s gross loan book grew by 18.12 per cent to RO446.56 in 2009, driven mainly by a strong growth in its corporate loan book, the report said. Its total assets were RO616.06 million for 2009 while its total liabilities were RO523.44 million. Earlier in the AGM, the bank’s shareholders approved the board’s decision to issue one bonus share for every 20 shares held.
Thereafter, it renamed it as Ahli Bank to undertake full-fledged commercial banking in Oman, as per information on the bank’s Web site.
The other notable shareholders in the bank include the World Bank’s private sector lending unit, International Finance Corporation to the extent of 9.9 per cent and Oman’s Ministry of Defense – Pension Fund to the extent of 6.5 per cent, as per information published in the bank’s annual report for 2009.
The bank’s gross loan book grew by 18.12 per cent to RO446.56 in 2009, driven mainly by a strong growth in its corporate loan book, the report said. Its total assets were RO616.06 million for 2009 while its total liabilities were RO523.44 million.
Earlier in the AGM, the bank’s shareholders approved the board’s decision to issue one bonus share for every 20 shares held.
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