QIIB maintained strong financial position, stable growth in 2021: Chairman

QIIB was able to maintain a strong financial position and stable growth and build various investment partnerships overseas in 2021 despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, QIIB Chairman Sheikh Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani said on Monday.
Addressing shareholders at the bank’s general assembly held online on Monday, Sheikh Khalid said, “The year 2021 emphasised Qatar’s strong economy, which remained stable amidst all the difficulties and changes encountered by countries across the globe.”
“Qatar was able to overcome all the factors and circumstances, in particular, the ongoing current crises due to the spread of COVID-19 as it continued to grant soft loans to those affected by the crisis or postpone the payment of instalments. This contributed to the stability of the national economy and the protection of companies, national institutions, industrialists and investors from possible repercussions on their activities and investments. This will continue until the end of March 2022,” he said.
“Qatar’s economy has continued to make great leaps in achieving self-sufficiency in most of the production and service sectors. At QIIB, we are proud to achieve great growth that reflects our involvement in Qatar’s economy, which was proved by experience based on solid foundations of strength and durability,” he said.
The bank’s policy remained focused on the local market, especially in light of the availability of great opportunities that contribute to the development process and the fulfilment of Qatar National Vision 2030 objectives, he said.
“We are also working on seizing the best opportunities to achieve profits for the bank. We have continued to work diligently with the executive management to accomplish our goals. We are focused on diversifying our investment and financing portfolios as much as possible to allocate potential risks,” he said.
“The bank has maintained good management of operational efficiency with a high-quality investment portfolio and even as it decreased the ratio of non-performing financing to total financing,” he said.
As in the previous years, he said, the Qatari banking sector in 2021 was full of activity and competition.
“We participated in financing many projects such as some infrastructure and major projects, as well as financing SMEs. We are satisfied with our achievements in this field as it is an essential part of our activity,” he said.
“QIIB’s financial results for 2021 indicate that in the last two years we were able to maintain the stability of our financial indicators and profitability while overcoming the negative factors in the market, especially the repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
The chairman said, “QIIB developed an integrated strategy to confront new developments and unexpected risks. The plan focused on enhancing the bank’s operational performance and benefiting from the opportunities offered by the Qatari economy, and coordinating effectively with the various business sectors in order to adapt with any emergency events.”
QIIB’s 2021 financial results affirm that the bank is making progress while benefiting from Qatar’s strong economy which is achieving the best outcomes in all sectors.
The board of directors has proposed to the ordinary general assembly of shareholders to distribute a cash dividend of 37.5 dirhams per share.
QIIB Chief Executive Officer Abdulbasit Ahmed Al Shaibei said, “In 2021, our bank achieved many of the interim goals we have set in front of us, went ahead in achieving our strategy, consolidated our financial position, strengthened various indicators, and achieved a net profit of QR1 billion, a growth rate of 7 percent compared to 2020.”
At QIIB, he said, “We have always considered the local market’s ability to seize
opportunities and address variables, to be a key factor in the nation’s ability to overcome the crisis, while achieving better growth rates and improving overall performance.”
“The year 2021 was a very active year for QIIB, as the bank provided the best products and services to its corporate and individual customers. Perhaps, the greatest achievement the bank made during the year was finding the right solutions to digitally provide most of our banking products and services, including mobile financing and Internet banking.
“Internet banking, in particular, was very well received by clients and it helped the bank complete financing transactions in record time. During the year, QIIB launched several marketing campaigns that were received exceptionally well by our clients. Those clients noted that our campaigns have enhanced the quality of our services and products to a new level,” he said.