Arab Banking Corporation (ABC), the largest Arab bank in terms of assets, announced net profits yesterday of $506 million in the first six months of 2004, up more than fivefold on the same period last year. "The net profit for the same period last year amounted to $96 million," said a statement by the bank, which recorded net profits of $120 million for 2003, compared with a $41 million loss in 2002. Operating profit in the first half of this year totaled $51 million compared to $66 million in the same period last year, the Bahrain-based investment and banking group said in a statement.
