Doha
For the second consecutive year, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has been recognised as the ‘Best Islamic Bank in Qatar’ by Islamic Finance News (IFN), the world’s leading Islamic finance publication and news provider. QIB achieved the award through record number of readers’ votes at the 16th annual edition of IFN’s Best Banks Poll; the unique barometer for Islamic banking performance in 35 countries. Considered one of the most prestigious accolades in the world of Islamic finance, the annual IFN’s Best Banks Poll acknowledges the best providers of Islamic financial services across a series of markets and sectors and is based on direct votes by IFN readers. The number of votes recorded in total at this year’s Poll was over 50,000. Commenting on receiving the award, Bassel Gamal, QIB’s Group CEO said: “We are pleased to be voted by the IFN readers as the Best Islamic Bank in Qatar for a second year in a row. This result reaffirms QIB’s leading position within the banking scene in Qatar as well as our ability to guarantee business continuity and support our corporate and individual customers during the ongoing pandemic challenges.” Bassel added: “I would like to thank all the IFN readers who participated in the poll and reiterate QIB’s commitment to our customers’ financial well-being, to innovation and to the highest work standards. We are looking forward to keep on providing above the par banking products & services and continue reshaping Islamic banking in Qatar and beyond.” Rated ‘A1’, ‘A-/A-2’ and ‘A’ by Moody’s, S&P and Fitch with stable outlooks, QIB has recently announced the financial results for the year 2020. QIB has achieved net profit attributable to shareholders of QR3.065bn for the fiscal year 2020 compared to QR3.055bn for the year 2019, despite the impact of Covid-19 and the decline in oil prices. The Bank maintained the basic earnings per share at QR1.21. Total Assets of the Bank has increased by 6.6 percent compared to 2019 and now stands at QR174.4bn driven by a growth in the core banking activities. Financing activities registered a robust growth by 4.7 percent over 2019 to reach QR119.1bn.—Agencies
