Kuwait: Gulf Bank, the second largest bank in Kuwait, announced a net profit of KD 7.4 million for the first quarter of 2012, against KD 3.2 million in the previous quarter and KD 9.8 million for the same period last year. The Bank further increased the general reserve by KD 14 million to reach KD 104 million, in line with its strategic plan to create a "fortress balance sheet" and to further its capacity to grow and expand. The Bank's Profit before provisions amounted to KD 29.8 million, an increase of 14% and up from KD 26.1 million in the corresponding period of 2011.

As of end of March 2012, the Bank's total assets reached KD 4,907 million, deposits KD 4,139 million whilst total shareholders' equity measured up to KD 437 million.

Commenting, Mr. Mahmoud Al-Nouri, Gulf Bank's Chairman said: "This quarter's results reflect the positive impact of our customer-centric strategy of providing the best and fastest banking services, as well as the efforts by the Bank's business groups, including Consumer Banking, Corporate Banking, and International Banking. However, we continue to be cautious in our approach, and therefore we will maintain a balance sheet which we believe is both strong enough to allow expansion, and will protect the Bank against unforeseen changes in the market.

"Looking ahead, we will continue our focus on the needs of our customers, developing our customer base and delivering returns to our shareholders, as we also address new opportunities to grow and deliver excellence in corporate and consumer banking services to the Kuwait market, whilst enhancing the Bank's reserves and financial capability," Al-Nouri added.

"In 2011 we witnessed the completion of the Bank's strategic plan, which aimed at building a fortress balance sheet, focusing on our core competencies, fostering the Bank's management and technical abilities, upgrading internal control systems in the area of risk management, and refining the Bank's marketing plans. For our next development phase, we have set ourselves a new strategy over the next four years - up to 2015 – which is focused on expanding the Bank's business," Al-Nouri continued.

"Our new strategy revolves around three main streams: The first is to 'solidify our gains', which means we will continue to work on our processes and infrastructure to ensure that there is no repetition of our earlier issues. The second is to 'accelerate our growth' within the Bank's core competencies. And finally, the third stream is to surpass our limits by expanding our existing capabilities. A number of initiatives have been identified within these three streams."

"Gulf Bank looks to the future with great confidence. We are serving our customers with excellence, we are contributing to Kuwait's economic growth and prosperity and we will continue to strive to deliver an outstanding return on our shareholders' investment responsibly," concluded Al-Nouri.

Gulf Bank has already won a number of important industry awards in this quarter, including: 'Best Retail Customer Service' and 'Best SME Startup Package' awards for 2012 by Banker Middle East; '2011 Deutsche Bank EUR STP Excellence Award' for the exceptional quality of its commercial and treasury payments; 2012 'Best Creativity' Award from Pan Arab Web Awards, and '2012 Best Foreign Exchange Bank Provider' in Kuwait by Global Finance Magazine and Best Retail Bank by Asian Banker.

This press release has been issued by Gulf Bank.