OREANDA-NEWS. Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB), a leading Islamic bank in the Kingdom of Bahrain, today announced excellent financial results of BD 4.4 million in net profit for the first half of 2015, an increase of 177% compared to BD 1.6 mil lion for the first half of 2014 , and 164% higher than the first quarter of 2015 by BD 2.7 million (i.e from BD 1.7 million to BD 4.4 m illion). Total assets reached BD 646.2 million, an increase of 8.3% compared to December 2014 and 3.1% over the first quarter of 2015. Profitability ratios have improved with the annualized return on average assets of 1.4% and annualized return on average equity of 8.3%. The Bank’s financial position remains strong with a liquid asset ratio of 26.4% and capital adequacy ratio of 18.3%, which is well above the regulatory minimum of 12.5%.

Dr. Ahmed Al Mutawa’a – Chairman of KHCB commented on the results sa ying: “the board is extremely pleased with the positive results and the strong financial performance achieved by the bank in the first half of 2015, which reflects the success of our new strategy. The bank has maintained a strong balance sheet throughout t he first half of the year, good liquidity and capital adequacy ratios. We believe that the effective execution of the strategy and efficient management of the bank will continue to ensure positive returns to our shareholders.”

We are also happy with the w ay the shares were restructured which reflected positively on the share price and the volume of trading of KHCB’s shares on the Bahrain Bourse” he added.

KHCB’s Chief Executive Officer Mr. Khalil Ismaeel Al Meer commented on the results: “the first half results were a reflection of positive growth that the bank has achieved in both its retail and commercial banking activities during 2015. We achieved many milestones of our new strategy, we managed to reduce our cost of funding, increase our customer bas e which was reflected by an increase in the total customer deposits by 13.4% compared to December 2014, recording BD 488.1 million and consumer financing assets reaching BD 98.9 million. We have successfully launched 2 new financing products, Easy 36 Cred it Card, and the I’etman (Sharia’a compliant overdraft facility). We have also opened our ninth branch in Souq Waqef. The bank Licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain as a Retail Islamic Bank also has strong deal flow on both commercial and corporate banking and we expect the trend of the first half to continue during the rest of the year”

“We will continue to increase our branch network by opening at least two new branches in addition to easing customers’ reach by adding new ATMs and enhancing our delivery channels, which will be announced very soon. We will continue to build the human infrastructure through continuous training and development of its personnel to support the continuous and successful expansion of its customer base. We believe that the strong support from our board of directors and commitment of our e mployees will enable us to continue to grow our business and meet the expectations of our shareholders.” Mr. Khalil added.