Finansbank acquisition helps lift QNB Q2 profit

The Gulf’s largest lender, Qatar National Bank (QNB), reported a 16 percent rise in second-quarter net profit on Tuesday, broadly in line with analysts’ forecasts and helped by its purchase of Turkey’s Finansbank.

QNB, which is 50 percent owned by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, completed its 2.7 billion euro purchase of Finansbank from National Bank of Greece in June, helping cement its position as the largest lender in the Middle East and Africa by assets.

QNB’s net profit totalled 3.38 billion riyals ($928 million) for the three months to June 30, up from 2.91 billion riyals in the corresponding period of 2015, according to its financial statement.

Three analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast a quarterly net profit of 3.20 billion riyals.

For the first six months of 2016, the bank’s net profit rose 12 percent from a year earlier to 6.2 billion riyals, it said.

Government spending on infrastructure and projects linked to the 2022 soccer World Cup has been a major source of credit growth in Qatar in recent years.

Still, banks are having to adjust to slimmer state spending this year after the government tightened its budget against a backdrop of lower oil prices.

The completion of the Finansbank acquisition helped boost QNB’s net interest income to 5.61 billion riyals at June 30, up from 3.21 billion riyals a year earlier. (RTRS)