Net Profits of Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank Rise by 35% in 2010

Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank, a subsidiary banking unit of Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C. (ABG), announced that it had achieved a good increase of 35% in its net profit. It also increased its equity by 18 %, total assets by 27%, deposits by 29 % and financing and investments by 30 % in 2010.

As a result of the repercussions of the global economic crisis, year 2010 was full of economic and financial challenges in the Turkish market. However, Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank, because of its ability to deal effectively with these challenges, and its possession of extensive resources and a wide branch network, was able to capitalize upon the circumstances arising from the crisis to expand its investment and financing portfolio and at the same time strengthen its liquid assets to enable it deal with all possibilities.  As a result, the financial results of the bank showed an increase in total operating income by 3% to US$ 281 million in 2010. After deducting expenses, provisions and taxes, net income increased by 35% to US$ 94 million in 2010.

In 2010, the assets of the Bank increased by 27% to US$ 5.5 billion compared with US$ 4.3 billion in 2009. This growth was the result of increases in financing and investments which increased by 30% to US $ 4.4 billion. This growth was  financed by increasing the Bank's range of investment products which led to an increase of 29% in customer deposits and unrestricted investment accounts to reach US$ 4.7 billion in 2010, which funded 86% of the total assets of the bank and which in turn reflects the bank's strong customer and deposit base. The bank also strengthened its shareholders equity by 18% to US $ 552 million in total as at the end of 2010.

On this occasion, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank and President & Chief Executive of Al Baraka Banking Group Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif said “We are very pleased with the excellent results that the Bank achieved in 2010. Such excellent achievements were the result of the hard work of the  executive management and all the employees of the Bank as well as the strong support that the parent company (ABG) extends to its subsidiary banks, which helped to consolidate the Bank’s position in the Turkish market. Turkey is considered as one of the key markets for the Group because of the diversity and abundance of economic activities and huge promising opportunities that it offersâ€‌.

Mr. Adnan Yosif added that "with the continuing and steady growth of Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank over the past decade, the bank has now passed the threshold of a small bank and can be said to qualify as a major player in the Turkish market. Reaching such maturity has prompted the bank to review both its Vision and its Mission, with a view to redefining its ambitions and future growth aspirations".

He added that "we are also proud of the re-affirmation of the Bank's rating by the international rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) in July 2010 with a long-term rating of BB / B (short term) and a stable outlook. In their rating S&P remarked that the ratings reflected the good track record of Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank in the participation banking market in Turkey, its adequate funding resources supported by a strong deposit franchise and limited market risk. S&P expects the bank to maintain its asset quality and capitalization at the current levels. S&P further pointed out that the bank’s ratings were themselves only constrained by the BB country rating of Turkey".

For his part, Mr. Fahrettin Yahsi, Member of the Board of Directors and General Manager of Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank, said that the Bank's results had benefited from the good performance of the Turkish economy which witnessed a good improvement and registered a growth of 8.1% in 2010. The authorities’ quick and effective action in 2009, introducing early tax incentives and steadily reducing interest rates throughout the year, aided the expansion of credit demand, the beneficial effect of which continued through 2010, raising domestic demand for goods and services in an atmosphere of high consumer confidence and surging private sector investment.
 
Mr. Yahsi added that "In focusing on growth, Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank intends to concentrate more on Musharaka projects and retail credit, initially targeting a 30% increase in the latter category. The Bank will also shortly be launching a new credit card, called â€کAlbaraka World Card’, in addition to bringing in new services such as money transfer, bill payment and gold trading by internet, participation accounts for children and minors and a Gold Participation account. New products already initiated include a Gold Deposit account, a Flexible Term Participation account and a variety of special funds to assist its customers in planning for retirement and saving towards their pension, in addition to facilities to enable payment of their utility bills and social security payments at any branch of the bank".

As ongoing expansion will naturally require an increase in staff levels both at the main office of the Bank and in its branch network, thus leading to greater demand for space, the bank has moved to a new headquarters building, fully fitted out with state of the art technologies and facilities.

Al Baraka Turk Participation is one of the main subsidiary banking units of Al Baraka Banking Group is one the subsidiary banking units of Al Baraka Banking Group, Al Baraka Banking Group is a Bahrain Joint Stock Company listed on Bahrain Bourse and Nasdaq Dubai. It is a leading international Islamic bank with Standard and Poors long term and short-term credit ratings of BBB- stable and A3 respectively. ABG offers retail, corporate and investment banking and treasury services strictly in accordance with the principles of the Islamic Shari'a. The authorized capital of ABG is US$1.5 billion, while total equity amounts to about US$1.8 billion.

The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of subsidiary banking Units and representative offices in thirteen countries, which in turn provide their services through more than 400 branches. These banking Units are Jordan Islamic Bank, Al Baraka Islamic Bank – Bahrain, Al Baraka Bank Pakistan Limited, Al Baraka Bank Algeria, Al Baraka Bank Sudan, Al Baraka Bank Ltd - South Africa, Al Baraka Bank Lebanon, Al Baraka Bank Tunis, Al Baraka Bank Egypt, Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank, Al Baraka Bank Syria, representative offices in Indonesia and in Libya (under formation).