Saudi's NCB posts 13 percent rise in second quarter net profit

Saudi’s NCB posts 13 percent rise in second quarter net profit

Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank (NCB), the kingdom's biggest bank by assets, posted a 12.9 percent rise in its second-quarter net profit, the lender said on Wednesday.

July 12, 2012 11:26 by Reuters

Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB), the kingdom’s biggest bank by assets, posted a 12.9 percent rise in its second-quarter net profit, the lender said on Wednesday.

State-owned NCB made a net profit of 1.6 billion Saudi riyals ($427 million) in the three months ended June 30, compared with 1.4 billion riyals in the same period a year earlier, it said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

NCB said its loans and advances portfolio increased by 15.4 percent to 150 billion riyals, while its net income from special commissions rose 7 percent. It did not give absolute figures.

On Tuesday four other major Saudi banks announced second-quarter profits that either beat or met analyst expectations, aided by rising demand for loans.

Last month NCB Capital said profit growth for Saudi banks this year would be driven by strong growth in loan volumes, particularly in the retail segment.

($1 = 3.750 Saudi Riyals) (Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Andrew Torchia)