Beirut (APD) - The Saudi-based National Commercial Bank (NCB) said its market share of personal loans reached 22.3%, while its corporate banking services accounted for 19% of its net profit. NCB's private banking accounts for roughly 46% of the Bank's net income, making it one of the most important sectors of activities due to the multitude of products and retail tools launched by the Bank, the London-based daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported Saturday.
Among the private banking products offered by the NCB are personal loans and credit cards which combined account for 32% of the total net of the loans portfolio, with NCB's market share of personal loans in Saudi Arabia reaching roughly 22.3%.
In an interview with the Saudi-based Al-Iqtisadiyah daily, Adulrahman Addas, head of corporate banking sector at NCB, said the NCB's market share of corporate banking now accounts for 19% of its net profit. "The size of credit facilities offered to corporate clients accounted for 37% of the total loans portfolio in 2004," said Addas.
He explained that NCB's market share of corporate banking increased due to the launch of new products such as the "Currency Control Program" which attracted more clients, the "Al-Taysir Program" for multi-purpose Islamic funding which considerably grew and the establishment of service centers dedicated to large institutions and companies.
The transformation of the NCB's private banks to Islamic banks by the end of 2005 did not seem to have put any extra pressure on the Bank as Islamic funding and corporate Islamic products are increasingly growing year after year, Al-Iqtisadiyah said.
As part of the expansion of its retail products and financial services, NCB has now entered the cooperative insurance market and is in the process of establishing "Al-Ahli Takaful Company" which is expected to be operational before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, NCB is pushing forward with its plan to increase the number of branches and service channels based on the market requirements and demand of clients for the Bank's services and products, NCB Deputy General Manager Abdulkareem Abu Al Nasr told Asharq al-Awsat.
In 2004, NCB had a network of 262 branches and offices compared to 252 in 2003, said Abu Al Nasr. NCB is currently in the process of building and modernizing over 20 new branches. [FC]
By Joelle Hatem
© APD (Arab Press Digest) 2005
