Bank Al Jazira and Saudi Investment post losses

Two more Saudi banks – Bank Al Jazira and Saudi Investment Bank – yesterday announced that they posted net losses of more than SAR90 million, while National Commercial Bank, country's biggest bank by assets, posted 66 per cent drop in full-year profits.

Bank Al Jazira said yesterday it posted a net loss of SAR92m compared with a profit of SAR160m in the same period in 2007, missing analyst forecasts.

Riyadh-based KSB Capital Group expected the bank to make a net profit of SAR28m in the fourth quarter, down 82.5 per cent from a year earlier.

Total operational income in the fourth quarter fell 40 per cent to SAR206m from a year ago, the bank said in a statement on the Saudi bourse website.

Net income from special commissions in the fourth quarter fell eight per cent to SAR142m, it said.

Full-year net profit plunged 72 per cent to SAR222m from 2007, according to the statement.

Al Jazira, one of the 11 listed banks on the Saudi bourse attributed the decline to international and local market fluctuations.

Shares of Al Jazira closed yesterday down 2.72 per cent at SAR14.30 before the results were announced.

Saudi Investment Bank said its losses widened to SAR91m in 2008's fourth-quarter, from SAR45.6m during the same period in 2007. The bank's full-year net profit fell 38 per cent to SAR513m, it said in a statement on the Saudi bourse website.

The bank attributed its full-year profit decline to provisions it booked to confront the drop in the local and global stock markets, according to the statement.

National Commercial Bank said full-year profit fell 66 per cent on provisions on its investment portfolio.

Net income in 2008 was SAR2.03 billion, the state-owned bank said in an e-mailed statement, without providing a year-earlier figure. Loans rose 23 per cent to SAR107.9bn, while deposits increased 20 per cent to SAR171.8bn.

The two banks are among several banks facing difficulties in the wake of the financial crisis.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.