The National Commercial Bank (NCB) has reported an almost 100 percent jump in its annual profits. The bank, Saudi Arabia's largest by market value, posted a net income of SR4.04 billion ($1.07 billion) in 2009 as against SR2.03 billion ($541 billion) or 98.9 percent more over 2008. NCB also reported a net profit of SR770 million ($205.3 million) for the fourth quarter of 2009 whereas it had posted a net loss of SR2.55 billion in the same period of 2008, according to a report published today by Arab News. “The increase in profits affirms the bank's ability to effectively deploy its funds and to expand its sources of revenue despite the challenges facing the global economy,” said Abdullah Bahamdan, NCB Chairman. According to Bahamdan, NCB's total assets grew by 16.1 percent to SR257.4 billion and shareholders' equity by 12.1 percent to SR29.3 billion.
