JEDDAH – The National Commercial Bank (NCB) announced that net income for the first quarter 2013 reached SR2.33 billion compared to SR1.95 billion for the same quarter of the previous year, an increase of 19.4 percent, and compared to SR1.41 billion for the previous quarter, an increase of 65.3 percent. Mansour Al-Maiman, NCB's Chairman, said the bank's growth and diversity of its financing and investment products has contributed to an increase in net special commission income by 10.4 percent and an increase of 7.2 percent in fee income from banking services, compared to the same period of the previous year. Al-Maiman added that the bank's total assets grew to reach SR358 billion compared to SR314 billion at the end of the same period of the previous year, an increase of 14.2 percent. Total shareholders' equity reached SR38 billion compared to SR35 billion for the same period of the previous year, an increase of 9.3 percent. Earnings per share reached SR1.56 compared to SR1.31 at the end of the same period of the previous year. Loans and advances increased to SR171 billion compared to SR142 billion at the end of the same period of the previous year, an increase of 19.9 percent. Customer deposits grew to SR277 billion compared to SR248 billion at the end of the same period of the previous year, an increase of 11.6 percent. Al-Maiman expressed his deep gratitude to the bank's clients and shareholders for their trust in the bank and to the Board of Directors and staff for their contribution and support to help it achieve these results. Banque Saudi Fransi net drops Banque Saudi Fransi, the lender part-owned by Credit Agricole, posted a 13.3 percent drop in its first-quarter net profit as higher operating expenses weighed on the bank, it said in a bourse statement on Sunday. The Kingdom's fifth-largest bank by market capitalization said it made 684 million riyals ($182.4 million) in the three months ended March 31, compared with 789 million riyals in the same period a year earlier. The results missed estimates; analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected the bank to post an average of 778.6 million riyals for the first quarter. First-quarter results from banks in Saudi Arabia have generally been positive, with most lenders reporting profit growth on the back of higher operating income. Banque Saudi Fransi, however, said its operating income for the quarter fell by 1.2 percent from a year earlier to 1.2 billion riyals, while profits from special commissions were flat. Loans and advances at the end of the first quarter stood at 106 billion riyals, gaining 9.3 percent on the same point in 2012. Bank lending growth in Saudi Arabia dipped from December's 46-month high of 16.4 percent in the first two months of 2013, but it was still rapid at 15.9 percent in January and 15.6 percent in February. Standard & Poor's said in a March report on the Gulf Cooperation Council banking sector that loan growth at Saudi banks would remain strong this year, given healthy demand in both the retail and corporate sectors. – SG/Reuters
