Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Ithmaar Bank reported a $30 million loss attributable to equity holders of the bank for the first half of 2009, owing to a second quarter loss of $33.8 million.
This compared with a $80.6 million profit for the first six months of 2008 and a $48.5 million profit for the second quarter of that year.
The announcement by Ithmaar Bank CEO Michael P Lee said: "Provisions for impairment, made during the first half of 2009, amounted to $33.7 million. The provisions and risk exposures to which they relate are small in relation to our consolidated total equity of $1.1 billion, and, in two cases, we have conservatively taken additional provisions at the group level so that 100 per cent of our consolidated exposure has been provided against.
"At the outset of the global financial crisis, management, following board directives, focused upon protecting our balance sheet.
"This, as on June 30, 2009, showed total assets of $5.7 billion, compared with $5.4 billion as on December 31, 2008. Cash and cash equivalents, at $1.2 billion, were about 20 per cent of our total assets, and the consolidated capital adequacy ratio stood at 14 per cent. Our retail banking business, accounting for most of the group's capital utilisation, is a strong comparative advantage."
Ithmaar Bank co-CEO Mohamed Hussain added: "Our retail banking subsidiaries, including Shamil Bank, Bahrain's leading Islamic commercial bank, have continued to perform well during the global financial crisis, notwithstanding the impairment provisions that have been made during the first half.
"We are also pleased with the continued progress of our associate, BBK, in which we have a 25.4 per cent stake and we take pride in the significant achievements during the first half of the year in pioneering projects for which Ithmaar Bank played a leading role, for example, Dilmunia@Bahrain where reclamation has been completed."
