Al-Salem: Capital Bank's positive performance strengthens its competitive position

Capital Bank has announced achieving positive financial results in its first quarter for 2021, which show an increase in net profits to reach JD10.2 million after tax and provisions compared to JD6.1 million for the same period of 2020, a growth rate of 67% before considering the net outcome of the one-time acquisition of JD19.6 million, which brings the group's net profits at the end of the first quarter of 2021 to JD29.8 million. Net operating profit rose by 44% as a result of the growth in loans as well as the marked increase in the operations of Capital Investments, which achieved profits of JD1 million as a result of the diversification policy adopted by the group.

Capital Bank also witnessed a 23% increase in assets, which reached JD3.4 billion, including assets acquired at the beginning of the first quarter of this year, compared with JD2.7 billion at the end of 2020. The balance of deposits also rose, reaching JD2.1 billion compared to JD1.7 billion during the last quarter of the previous year.

Capital Bank’s robust performance during the first quarter is paralleled by its completion of the acquisition deal of Bank Audi’s business in Jordan and Iraq, as well as its continued employment of a prudent strategy in order to counter the negative repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic in order to maintain the quality of its assets and its credit portfolio, with allocated provisions increasing by 73% compared to the previous year.

Commenting on the bank’s results, Capital Bank Chairman Bassem Khalil Al-Salem said, “We have succeeded in lessening the negative economic repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, with the bank witnessing positive performance on numerous levels. This includes the strengthening of its financial indicators as well as maintaining high and above-capital adequacy ratios as required by the Central Bank of Jordan. The capital adequacy ratio of Jordan’s branches increased by approximately 16%, allowing the bank to preserve its leading position in the local and regional banking sector, largely due to the bank’s successful acquisition of Bank Audi in both Jordan and Iraq."

Al-Salem praised the pivotal role of the Central Bank of Jordan in lessening the ramifications of the pandemic on the national economy, a role that has contributed to the achievement of sustainable growth in the performance of the banking system despite the numerous challenges and the prevalent uncertainty of the global economy.

Also speaking about the results, Capital Bank CEO, Dawod Al Ghoul said, “These positive results reflect the immense and unrelenting efforts exerted by Capital Bank in implementing its strategic plans, which is reflected in its various financial performance indicators.” Customer portfolios also saw an increase by approximately 14% compared with 2020, without taking into account the impact of the acquisition, with around 11.2 thousand domiciliation accounts opened with the National Bank of Iraq during the first quarter.

Al-Ghoul went on to add that Capital Bank has made remarkable progress in the domain of digital transformation and have provided its clients with the best electronic services, a move that has led to a significant increase in digital account opening operations since the introduction of the service in late February 2021. In the realm of investment banking services, Capital Investments increased the value of the customer accounts it manages to more than $313 million during the first quarter of this year.

About Capital Bank Group

Capital Bank Group is considered one of the top financial institutions operating in the Jordanian and regional markets, with assets of JOD 3.4 billion, while the total equity of its shareholders is approximately JOD 400 million.

Capital Bank Group includes Capital Bank, which since its inception in 1995, has grown to become one of the top financial institutions in Jordan, offering the Jordanian market a comprehensive set of commercial and investment banking services and solutions tailored to the needs of retail and corporate clients alike.

In 2005, Capital Bank (Jordan) purchased majority shares of the National Bank of Iraq (61.85%), which enabled NBI to develop its products and services, strengthen its foothold and enhance financial inclusion at the country level, support export activities and provide all services to Jordanian companies operating In Iraq. As for Capital Investments, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Capital Bank established in 2006, and offers specialized investment banking services to its clients through its offices in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates / Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC).

Before the end of 2020, in a bid to accomplish its expansion plans, Capital Bank Group took the full acquisition of Lebanese Bank Audi business in Jordan and Iraq, thus the number of Capital Bank branches reached 28, while the National Bank of Iraq branches reached 18.