National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the Arab world's fourth-largest bank, said yesterday first-quarter net profit rose 39 percent to a record 44.3 million dinars ($152 million), with all units performing well. Kuwait's biggest bank said profit rose from 31.9 million dinars in the first three months of 2004, with earnings per share up to 27 fils from 20 fils. NBK said its return on equity and return on assets rose to 3.3 percent and 32 percent, respectively. NBK currently has branches in New York, London, Paris, Geneva, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and Singapore, while its 47 local branches give it the largest such network in Kuwait. NBK's total assets were $18.9 billion at the end of 2004, after its 2004 net profit rose 24 percent to $515 million. Shares in NBK eased 20 fils at 1.360 dinars on the Kuwait Stock Exchange on Wednesday, the end of the trading week in the Arab Gulf state.
