DUBAI - National Bank of Kuwait, the country's biggest lender, reported on Wednesday a fourth quarter profit of 107.4 million dinars ($355.64 million), a 38% yearly rise.

Net profit for 2021 was 362.25 million dinars, a 47.1% leap from 2020. Total assets rose 11.9% last year and total liabilities increased by 12.6% compared to 2020.

NBK's annual profit beat expectations by more than 10%. Analysts' mean expectation was net income for the year at 328.7 million dinars, according to Refinitiv Eikon.

The bank has proposed a cash dividend of 30% of the share's nominal value and a distribution of 5% bonus shares from issued and paid up capital, both subject to approvals.

($1 = 0.3020 Kuwaiti dinars)

(Reporting by Yousef Saba, Editing by Louise Heavens) ((Yousef.Saba@thomsonreuters.com; +971562166204; https://twitter.com/YousefSaba))