DOHA, July 12 — Qatar National Bank, the largest lender in the Middle East, said today its net profits for the second quarter sank over the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
QNB net profit in the second quarter plunged 25.8 per cent to 2.84 billion riyals (RM3.3 billion) compared to US$1.05 billion (RM4.4 billion) in the same period a year ago, the bank said in a statement.
The first quarter net profit of QNB, which has operations in 31 countries including Turkey, Indonesia and India, dropped only slightly.
Its net income in the first six months of the year also dipped 13.6 per cent to US$1.76 billion from US$2.04 billion a year ago, it said.
The bank said it increased the loan loss provisions by US$320 million in the first half to safeguard itself from any adverse shocks from the pandemic, thus affecting its profitability.
Total assets rose 10 per cent to US$267 billion on June 30, making it the largest lender in the Middle East and North Africa in terms of assets. — AFP
