Boubyan Bank’s AGM approves distribution of 8% in cash dividends, 6% in bonus shares

Kuwait: Chairman of Boubyan Bank Abdulaziz Abdullah Dakheel Al-Shaya, stated: “Boubyan Bank has successfully concluded its 5-year strategy ‘Boubyan 2023’, launched in 2019 that aimed at complete and positive transformation of its business operations. The bank has reaped the fruit of this strategy through accelerated growth across its financial indicators and market shares, the thing which reflects the robustness of the bank’s financial position, the sustainability of its profits, and reinforces the bank’s position as one of the major financial institutions regionally, and the third largest bank in terms of financing portfolio and total assets in the Kuwaiti market.”

This statement came during the general assembly meeting of Boubyan Bank for the financial year ended December 31, 2023, with an attendance exceeding 82 percent. He emphasized: “With the conclusion of 2023, Boubyan Bank managed to have a record growth rate of 39 percent, while registering KD 80.4 million in net profits with an earnings per share of 18.8 fils, and the bank continued its precautionary approach by allocating KD 31.7 million in provisions. All this was the fruit of the bank’s successful strategy ‘towards perfection’.”

Al-Shaya pointed out that all of the bank’s key indicators witnessed a remarkable growth in 2023, where the total combined assets of Boubyan Bank Group increased to KD 8.4 billion at a growth rate of 7 percent. Moreover, the total of customers’ deposits grew by 9 percent to reach KD 6.5 billion, while the financing portfolio grew by 7 percent to reach KD 6.3 billion, and operating income grew by 8 percent to reach KD 218 million.

“What makes the results of Boubyan more significant are the core business and profitability practices of the Group, which were significantly reinforced by the bank in 2023 compared with the last financial year, while improving the NPL ratio, making it one of the lowest locally.”, he elaborated.

 

Al-Shaya went on to add: “Boubyan’s strategy was successfully concluded with continued growth in terms of total assets and deposits, maintaining its position as the bank with the third largest financing portfolio and total assets in the Kuwaiti market, while continuing to achieve double digit profitability growth rates.”

Al-Shaya sincerely thanked the shareholders, investors, and all Boubyan’s customers for their confidence and loyalty to the bank, and reiterated the Board’s full and ongoing support to the efforts of the bank’s highly-professional executive management, which wisely steers the bank towards achieving the best results, while thanking all the bank’s employees for their dedication throughout the past year.

Approval of profit distribution

During the general assembly meeting, it was approved to distribute 8 percent in cash dividends and 6 percent in bonus shares to eligible shareholders who are registered with the bank’s registers as at the end of the maturity date of April 24, 2024, and to allocate the same to shareholders on April 25, 2024. The Board of Directors has been authorized to dispose of the share fractions and amend this schedule in case the confirmation thereof is not announced at least eight business days ahead of the maturity date as stipulated and in line with the provisions of the Law.

Furthermore, the Ordinary General Assembly approved the recommendation of the Board of Directors to distribute dividends to shareholders at the end of the financial year or semi-annually, and authorized the Board to execute the decision of the General Assembly as per the percentages decided by the board.

A year of leadership and solid performance

On his part, Boubyan Bank’s Vice-Chairman & Group Chief Executive Officer, Adel Abdul Wahab Al-Majed, stated: “Thanks to Almighty Allah, the past year witnessed the achievement of goals, milestones, and expansions, regionally and internationally, thanks to the solid pillars upon which the Group’s vision and strategy are based. Hence, the bank managed to make its mark in the Islamic banking industry and to make a franchise that stands out from the competition, be they Islamic or conventional banks.”

“During Boubyan’s journey, the bank managed - through well-studied steps - to become a leading franchise despite the fierce competition among the banking sector’s institutions, thus following a tailored path that reinforces customer satisfaction levels, leading to receiving a 96 percent customer-satisfaction score among all Islamic and conventional local banks.

The bank’s market share and its ongoing growth reflect the high levels in customer service and digital excellence, which are the fruit of the bank’s clear strategy, professional executive team, and continued investment in our human resources with special focus on our national cadres”, he added. He elaborated: “Our sustainable growth was the result of a well-studied approach towards investing in various business sectors, thus leading to significant growth in our consumer banking and corporate banking businesses, thanks to our focus on creativity and innovation, despite the fierce competition in the banking sector.”

Plans and goals

Al-Majed reiterated: “The bank will follow its unique strategic approach to maintain solid profitability and ongoing growth, based on its sound management and status, which qualifies it to benefit from its strong potentials and solid financial position to help customers benefit from growth opportunities in our favorite markets.”

“As a part of Boubyan’s vision and in line with the new brand identity refreshed in 2023, entitled ‘Imagine the possibilities’, we reiterate our commitment to supporting the state’s development plans through financing projects, for corporates or retail customers, taking into consideration green financing. We are also targeting further regional and international expansion, as well as keeping up with the latest developments in the field of digital banking solutions and Islamic investments to better serve customers and the society”, he pointed out.

Governance

Al-Majed stated: “Governance is one of the pillars of the credit decision and giving an advantage to customers who have sound governance practices in place. Accordingly, Boubyan has been keen on applying the instructions and guidelines of CBK in that regard. This has been taken into consideration as well upon designing the banking applications which include a number of authorities for various management levels at companies, in addition to providing the possibility of internal monitoring by the company over the performed transactions in order to ensure the uninterrupted provision of secure and cutting-edge banking services.”

“The concept of digital transformation in banking institutions has become associated to a great extent with the name of Boubyan, as the phrase ‘for the first time in Kuwait’ has been mostly synonymous with Boubyan Bank’s innovative services and solutions in Islamic digital banking”, Al-Majed added.

He went on to highlight: “Boubyan Bank’s digital transformation strategy gained a significant momentum, being a real example for succeeding in being highly competitive regionally in digital services, and in changing the lives of our customers through our services and products. Our digital services’ journey is very exceptional. It has seen us excel and climb to the top of the pyramid amid tough competition in the market for digital banking services which is growing rapidly.”

Al-Majed went on to add: “Boubyan offers a group of innovative services, products, and digital solutions through its retail and corporate Apps. Such offerings add value to customers and show the bank’s keenness to maintain its leadership in innovation to ensure supporting its customers, enriching their banking experience, and making things easier, especially amid the competition across various business sectors. This reflects the bank’s ongoing approach to develop the digital infrastructure and to offer the best services in the field of digital payments.”

In 2023, Boubyan inaugurated a number of new branches, bringing the number to 47 branches across Kuwait, which were fully upgraded and modernized as per the latest international systems and standards. The branches were well-manned with competent banking professionals along with all resources that guarantee customers enjoy a swift, convenient, smooth, and unique banking experience that keeps pace with the developments of banking services.

Awards and international ratings

Al-Majed added: “In 2023, Boubyan received more than 20 awards, recognitions, and international ratings from renowned global institutions across various domains and business sectors such as digital transformation, corporate banking, customer service, and customer satisfaction, which reinforced our banking leadership and emphasized the strength of the strategy the bank has been adopting since many years locally, regionally, and internationally.”

Furthermore, our ratings from Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch remain stable at A2, A, and A respectively. As for the ex-government support (or xgs) rating assigned by Fitch, the introduction of such new criteria communicates Fitch’s view of the creditworthiness of Boubyan excluding assumptions of extraordinary government support. Boubyan was assigned the second highest rating in Kuwait as per such criteria.

Nomo Bank: International expansion

In 2023, Nomo Bank, the digital bank of the Bank of London and the Middle East “BLME”, a subsidiary of Boubyan Bank Group, launched unique products and services that put it on par with top financial institutions, whereby it aspires to become the Islamic bank of choice for GCC customers in the United Kingdom.

Moreover, Nomo continues to make its mark in the Islamic digital banking sector through the recent launch of many products such as the multicurrency account, which allows customers to perform their banking transactions in six different currencies, enabling them to make payments in local currencies in more than 25 countries spanned across Europe and the Middle East within seconds using Nomo App, in addition to immediately benefiting from remittance and fund-transfer services, coupled with the possibility of automatically linking the account with Nomo Card and Apple Pay.

Nomo managed to position itself as one of the best Sharia-compliant property finance options in the United Kingdom, as it offers a group of integrated real estate, finance, and advisory services related to ownership of real estate properties in the UK market to its customers in Kuwait and the region, through partnerships with major real estate companies such as Ayan Real Estate, Blueprint, and Great Portland. Additionally, Nomo inked significant agreements such as the partnership with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank “ADCB” and Al-Hilal Digital Bank to give citizens and residents of the UAE an opportunity to benefit from the innovative services and solutions by Nomo Bank through ADCB - Nomo and Al-Hilal Nomo Apps.

Corporate banking

Al-Majed further reiterated: “In 2023, the Corporate Banking Group managed to make a significant milestone by diversifying and improving a number of products and services, and it is expected to begin to reap the reward of that as of 2024.

This targeted all companies across various sectors in Kuwait, in an attempt to offer innovative and edge-cutting banking services, being the traditional concept limited to financing transactions, thus not only making it as a one-stop shop for all corporate banking needs, but also extending to provide services to customers and corporate vendors. Accordingly, this made the bank more inclined towards focusing on innovation in products and services, in addition to upgrading the bank’s processes.”

CSR and human resources

Boubyan succeeded to stand out as an excellent role model in CSR and in the support of sustainability through many events and initiatives that made a clear mark and emphasized the bank’s social excellence, as well as its ongoing plans, which were crowned with the “World’s Best Islamic Bank for CSR” by Global Finance in recognition of the bank’s prominent CSR role in supporting various segments of the society, which confirms that the bank is on the right track to reinforce sustainable development inside and outside Kuwait. During the past year, the bank’s human resources proved themselves to be one of the key pillars of its continued success, as they embrace and adopt Boubyan’s future vision, the thing which comes in line with the principle of diverse job roles at the workplace, which greatly contributes to the introduction of innovative and creative ideas and deliverables, which significantly increase the bank’s productivity and profitability.

Thanks & appreciations

Al-Shaya concluded his word during the general assembly meeting: “For myself and on behalf all the team of Boubyan Bank, I would like to express deepest thanks and appreciation to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, may Allah protect him, and HH Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister, for all their efforts towards the development and growth of our dear country, and to guarantee the stability and security of everyone who considers this blessed land home.”

He added: “I would also like to express the deepest thanks to all the executives of the Central Bank of Kuwait, headed by Governor Basel Al-Haroon, who spared no effort to take the actions deemed appropriate to develop and safeguard the Kuwaiti banking system. I would also like to express deepest thanks to all the bank’s esteemed shareholders and customers who have always been the key factor behind our success by supporting us in overcoming our challenges.

Moreover, I would like to thank all members of the Sharia Supervisory Board at the bank for their great efforts, and I would like to thank members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Management, as well as all the bank’s employees for their cooperation, commitment, and keenness on supporting the bank for the benefit of the bank and its shareholders.”

Abdulaziz Al-Shaya

•Results reinforce the Group’s key business standards and profitability in 2023 leading to significant growth of our financial results

•The bank’s operational performance reflected positively on our solid financial position in the region, making us the third largest bank in the Kuwaiti market in terms of financing portfolio and total assets

Adel Al-Majed

•Boubyan to follow its unique strategic approach to maintain solid profitability and ongoing growth

•Significant growth in consumer banking and corporate banking is the fruit of our investment in creativity and innovation