OREANDA-NEWS.  The Bahrain based leading Islamic banking group, Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C (ABG) announced that it has achieved a net income of US\$ 275 million in 2014, an increase of 7% on the income achieved in 2013. The results of the fourth quarter of 2014 saw large improvements in both profits and businesses as net profits jumped by 12%. Similarly, balance sheet items witnessed notable increases as total assets increased by 12%, total finance and investments by 15%, customers accounts by 12% while total equity increased by 5% as at the end of December 2014 in comparison with the end of December 2013. The Group's results in year 2014 reflect the excellent ability of the Group to maintain its financial performance in a steady state of growth over the past eight years, even during the recent fluctuated political conditions regionally and economic developments globally. This in turn proves the soundness and robustness of the business strategies that the Group follows and which are based on unwavering professional commitment to the values of Islamic banking, supported by extensive experience in the markets in which the Group operates, diversification in income resources, extensive network of branches, as well as strong capital resources that enabled it to continue invest in opportunities generated by the current conditions.

Commenting on these results, HE Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel, Chairman of Al Baraka Banking Group, said "The difficult economic and political conditions continued during 2014 regionally and globally, especially during the fourth quarter of 2014 with the sharp decline in oil prices and fluctuation in US currency, which were accompanied with fast developments in global banking regulatory and supervisory environment. Therefore we are very proud to see continuing growth in the revenue and business of Al Baraka Banking Group, especially during the fourth quarter of the year, and further elevation in its regional and global standing in spite of all those conditions. This embodied once again the success of the business model that we followed since the founding of the Group, a model that reflects the true values of Islamic banking and far- sighted business strategies, supported by outstanding management expertise capable of creatively translating these values and strategies to facts on the ground. These strategies not only enabled us to deal in a prudent manner with the regional and global developments and conditions, but also further expand our business while at the same time continue with our geographic expansion programs and build up the branch network of the Group as well as enhance our human and technical capabilities".

For his part, Mr. Abdulla Ammar Al Saudi, Deputy Chairman of ABG, said that "The economic and financial developments witnessed by year 2014 represented an extension for the global economic climate since the outbreak of the global crises during the last four month of 2008. In addition to this, the last year saw the slowdown in global economic growth, negative political developments in a number of countries in the region, and increased fears from the sharp decline in oil prices. This forced the financial institutions across the world to adopt conservative and cautious business strategies, especially in the light of restricted international banking regulations. In light of these developments and conditions, we consider the financial results achieved by the Group in 2014 as excellent by all standards and they reflect the success of the business strategies that we at the Board of Directors of the Group have put in place based on our points of strength, the opportunities generated in the markets in which we operate, based on a group of highest professional values, principles and standards that we embodied in all the programs, services and products that the Group offers".