TII leads the rankings in in GCC banking sector

Results of the latest MEED survey of the GCC banking sector confirm the status of The International Investor (TII) as one of the leading financial institutions in the region.

The survey, conducted annually by MEED magazine, spans all categories of GCC financial institutions, including regional wholesale banks, domestically-focused conventional retail operations, investment boutiques and Islamic institutions. Their performance is ranked against a number of criteria, including size, return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), net profit/total income and shareholders' equity/assets.

Based on the full-year 2000 results of the GCC banking institutions surveyed, TII achieved the following rankings:

• FIRST: Return on year-end assets (ROA) at 15.30 per cent (all institutions)

• FIRST: Shareholders' equity/assets at 96.50 per cent (all institutions)

• FIRST: Return on equity (ROE) at 15.85 per cent (investment institutions)

• FIRST: Net profit/total income at 39.43 per cent (investment institutions)

• TOP TEN: One of Kuwait's ten largest financial institutions by size of assets

The MEED survey is widely recognised as a prime indicator of GCC banking sector performance. The survey for 2000 covered more institutions than ever before, reflecting a gradual improvement in the levels of transparency in the region, according to MEED.

Other key trends highlighted by the MEED survey include:

• Retail and corporate customers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, demanding a greater variety of products and higher levels of service

• International banks active in the region are raising the benchmark for innovation and quality

• The market is over-crowded by undersized institutions lacking the resources to provide cutting-edge services

• Larger institutions with a regional rather than a national focus, are needed

• The increasing pace of regional economic reform is forcing banks to change the way they operate

• The private sector will play an ever more important role in the development of the region, and will look to the financial community for funding.

Commenting on the survey, Adnan Al Bahar, TII chairman and managing director said: 
"The results of the MEED survey are particularly significant for TII, for a number of reasons. Firstly, TII's continued high rankings underline our ability to consistently return a superior financial performance, especially in cyclical downturns such as 2000, which affected the global investment sector as a whole.

“Second, the survey not only confirms TII's status as a leading regional financial institution, but also illustrates our distinctive ability to anticipate market trends. An example of this is TII's strategy of focused geographic expansion in the MENA region.

“Third, it endorses our recent agreement with Dallah Albaraka to establish a new, larger institution with a regional focus, with a unique combination of personal, commercial and investment banking products and services. Our involvement in both the capital and financial markets through a pan-regional network of offices, will enable us to face the challenges and grasp the opportunities afforded by the next stage of regional economic development, more quickly, more efficiently, and more comprehensively than any other financial institution.

“Finally, we will lead the development of a stronger, more unified Islamic market, introducing new and innovative products and services, and bringing Islamic finance closer to the global financial benchmark.”