Ahlibank Holds Annual Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting
28 February 2023
Doha - March 1st 2023: Ahlibank held its Annual Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meetings on Tuesday, 28th February 2023, chaired by Sheikh Faisal Bin AbdulAziz Bin Jassem Al-Thani, Chairman of the Board with attendance from the Bank’s shareholders.
Ahlibank’s Board reported a net profit of QAR 772 million for the year ended 2022 compared to QAR 713 million for the year 2021.
The Annual Ordinary General Meeting approved the Board’s recommendation for distribution of dividends to the shareholders as cash dividend of 20% (QAR 0.20 per share) for the year 2022.
The Annual Extraordinary General Meeting approved
- The continuation of the $2 billion medium-term bond programme (EMTN) and authorising the Board of Directors to update the programme from time to time, pay any tranche and issue new bonds.
- Amendment of a few articles of the Bank’s Article of Association.
Sheikh Faisal Bin AbdulAziz Bin Jassem Al-Thani, Chairman of Ahlibank, commented on the Bank’s financial performance: “The Bank continued to implement its strategy to achieve stable financial performance, which is reflected in the results of the fiscal year 2022. I am also pleased to announce positive results for our Bank in 2022. Net profits reached QAR 772 million, compared to QAR 713 million in 2021.
Loans and advances grew by 1.4% compared to December 2021, reaching QAR 34,032 million. Customer deposits increased by 3.7% to 28,954 million compared to last year. While the Total Capital Adequacy Ratio in December 2022 stood at 20.5%, reflecting the Bank’s strong financial position.
The Chairman added: “Our strong financial performance and profits enable us to deliver more value for customers and shareholders. As a result of our steady performance in 2022, and taking into consideration the preservation of shareholders’ rights, the stability of the Bank’s financial position, liquidity expectations, and the balance sheet, the Board of Directors proposed a cash dividend of 20% (QAR 0.2 per share) for the year 2022.”
Solid foundation
The CEO of Ahlibank, Mr. Hassan Ahmed AlEfrangi, said the Bank's results for the year 2022 indicated a significant improvement in profitability and financial indicators and places the Bank on a solid foundation and a good position for medium and long-term growth, especially since its focus is on providing sustainable and long-term returns to the Bank's shareholders. He pointed out that Ahlibank achieved all of its goals during the past year better than expected, reflecting the strength of its business model and its strategic focus on diversification. He also stated that the Bank continues to implement its development strategy based on enriching the sector with innovative banking solutions, products, and services that match global levels in digital banking. He further explained that the Bank is moving forward in implementing projects that contribute to the development and growth of the national economy.
Innovative products
Mr. AlEfrangi explained that the Bank will continue its efforts to innovate pioneering solutions and constantly expand its digital offerings. Additionally, the Bank will work to make its infrastructure more advanced and innovative to enrich the customer experience. He emphasised the Bank's aspirations to provide the best banking services and products, designed to meet the customers' expectations and add value to their banking transactions.
Digital Agenda
Mr. AlEfrangi confirmed the growth of Ahlibank digital services portfolio, which motivates it to continue investing in enhancing the Bank's digital banking platform, in order to meet the requirements of its customers and provide digital services that are unparalleled in the local market, thus cementing the Bank's leading position in this sector. In this context, he explained that the Bank has launched several digital initiatives that have received widespread recognition in the local market, including mobile payment mechanisms such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Wallet, Fitbit Pay, and Garmin Pay. He stated, "We have continued to heavily invest in implementing the Bank's digital transformation roadmap, and we had no doubt about our vision for digital transformation and our readiness to anticipate a new generation of digital banking services that preserve our leadership despite operational challenges. The digital agenda has become a fundamental pillar in all of Ahlibank’s strategies, and we have started to reap the fruits of our efforts to build a digital culture and mindset. 2022 witnessed a major step in our digital transformation journey and our readiness for the future in order to enhance our market share”.
Customers’ Comfort and Security First
“Customer comfort and security are our top priority”, emphasised the CEO. Ahlibank is committed to strengthening its relationships with customers and being close to them to provide the best banking services. Accordingly, and in line with the Bank's expansion strategy, it has renovated its branch in the Al Sadd area. "We have worked on expanding the map of the Bank’s presence, where we added 11 new ATMs, bringing the total number of ATMs to 89, strategically distributed throughout Qatar. This will allow our customers to carry out their daily banking transactions around the clock and throughout the week," he said.
With the Bank's deep commitment to ensuring the security of its customer’s personal data and financial transactions, the CEO affirmed the executive management's keenness to exert all available efforts to provide security and safety at all times. While the Bank continues to invest in developing its operations and improving its systems by enhancing its cybersecurity, which allows its customers to carry out their daily banking services in a sophisticated and secure manner.
Sustainability Initiatives
In the context of its commitment to promoting sustainable future growth, Ahlibank’s CEO stated that the Bank continues its efforts to follow best practices in environmental, social, and institutional governance. He noted that the Bank's efforts are based on developing a strategy that provides a framework for all sustainability initiatives that the Bank intends to adopt in the future, and to follow best practices so that this strategy becomes a fundamental pillar of the institutional culture and business activities. He said, "In our quest to fulfill our commitment to sustainability principles, we have developed a set of distinguished initiatives that embody Ahlibank’s importance in complying with environmental, social, and administrative considerations, which are at the core of our strategy. To this end, we have drawn a roadmap for these initiatives, which we will work on over the coming years to solidify our commitment to sustainable development, in support of and adherence to Qatar National Vision 2030, with one of its key pillars being the commitment to sustainability principles in all its aspects."
Best Human Resources
Ahlibank’s CEO affirmed that the Bank is committed to attracting the best talents and professional competencies, especially among Qatari talents. He commented, "The Bank is proud to have high retention rates for employees and to be one of the most attractive private sector institutions for talents and competencies." He added that the Bank's employees are its most important assets, and thus it attaches great importance to their health, safety, and the development and training of their talents. He stressed that the recruitment team's strategy, which is part of the Human Resources Group, aims to attract the best local talents in line with the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030, increase the employment of Qatari citizens in the banking sector, and support the national economy.
Credit Rating
“As a further testimony to our performance, the Bank continued to enjoy higher credit ratings with international credit ratings of A2/P1 from Moody’s and Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'A-' by Fitch.”