The National Commercial Bank (NCB) announced its record net income in 2015, which reached SR9.09 billion compared to SR8.66 billion for the previous year, achieving an increase of SR434 million, with a growth rate of 5.0% compared to 2014. The Q4 net income reached SR2.13 billion compared to SR1.83 billion in Q4 of the previous year, achieving an increase of 16.5%. Earnings per share reached SR4.56 compared to SR4.34 for the same period of the previous year. Mansour Al-Maiman, Chairman of the National Commercial Bank (NCB), said: "The growth and diversification of the bank's finance and investment products contributed to the increase of net special commission income to reach SR12.78 billion in 2015 compared to SR11.40 billion for the same period of the previous year, achieving an increase of 12.1%. Net special commission income in Q4 reached SR3.41 billion compared to SR3.06 billion of Q4 of the previous year, with an increase of 11.3%, and SR3.21 billion for the previous quarter, achieving an increase of 6.1%. Total operating income in 2015 reached SR17.49 billion compared to SR16.25 billion of 2013, with an increase of SR1.24 billion, achieving an increase of 7.6%. Total operating income in Q4 reached SR4.44 billion compared to SR4.05 billion of Q4 of the previous year, with an increase of 9.6%." The bank assets increased to reach SR449 billion compared to SR435 billion at the closing of the previous year, with an increase of 3.3%. The Financing and Advances portfolio has increased to reach SR252 billion over the last twelve months compared to SR221 billion for the same period of the previous year, achieving an increase of 14.0%. The Investments reached SR133 billion compared to SR153 billion, with a decrease of 13.0%. Customers deposits' decreased by 2.9% to reach SR323 billion compared to SR333 billion of the previous year," Al-Maiman added. He also said the bank's investments in IT infrastructure and new advanced systems to replace the existing systems have made a qualitative leap in convenience, service level and customer experience, in addition to quick turnaround of transactions. He further said: "We have achieved advancements on all levels to continue our journey in realizing our vision to be the premier financial service group in the region. It also showcases our strong position in the Saudi banking sector which was attained by meeting our customers' expectations and our flexibility to meet the market demands." Al-Maiman noted that NCB continued to expand its geographical outreach and opened more service outlets by adding 11 new branches, including some branches equipped with state-of-art technologies and modern design in an initiative to develop our customers' banking experience and provide best services. This brings the total of NCB branches to 352 by the end of the year. Also, 41 new QuickPay centers were opened bringing the total of centers to 138; plus 284 new ATMs were installed to reach 2,927 machines; and new 15,274 Point Of Sale machines were added to reach 30,803 throughout the Kingdom at the end of the year. This enhanced the bank's capability to improve its products and services and better reach its' customers, which will give the customer access to all our services 24/7. Al-Maiman expressed his deep gratitude to the bank's customers and shareholders for their trust in the Bank and to the Board of Directors and staff for their contribution and support to help the bank achieve these results.
