George Nasra: Our Operating Income grew to QAR 665 million. This performance is testament to our prudent policies as well as the underlying strength of the Qatari economy. 

Doha, February 21, 2010: IBQ announced its financial results for 2009, achieving the second highest growth rate in earnings for Qatar based banks. Net profits increased 12% to reach QAR 342 million as compared to QAR 305 million in 2008 due to a 15% rise in Annual Operating Income. This increase was achieved against the backdrop of the international economic crisis and is a further indicator of the strength of the local economy and the robust business performance of the bank.

Customer deposits were equally buoyant with a rise of 14 % on the previous year, finishing at QAR 13.1 billion compared to QAR 11.5 billion in 2008. Net Interest income grew by 29% to reach QAR 484 million and income from Islamic financing and Investment activities reached QAR 38.4 million, and increase of 90% over the same period last year.

“This has been another good year for the bank in light of the world wide financial crisis. The results are testament to our prudent policies as well as the underlying strength of the Qatari economy,” IBQ Managing Director George Nasra said of the results.

“IBQ has continued the development of its infrastructure, a fact which has led us to emerge as the 4th largest commercial bank in the country at the end of 2009.

2009 also saw IBQ named the Fastest Moving Bank in the Middle East by The Banker UK Magazine. This was by virtue of the bank’s solid Tier 1 Capital bases and significant growth in profit.

Nasra concluded, “In addition to our improved financial performance, we have increased our range of services across all the bank’s activities while continuing to focus on the quality of customer service. We have also seen the inauguration of the retail services of our ‘Al Yusr Islamic Banking’ in May 2009; Al Yusr now operates a full platform of Sharia compliant products and services.

Doha, 3 February 2010: IBQ has announced its sponsorship of the All India Poetic Symposium 2010 (Mushaira) to be held in celebration of the 61st Republic Day of India, and organised by the Anjuman Muhibban-e-Urdu Hind (The Indian Urdu Lovers Association – Qatar) at the Ramada Hotel on 5 February, 2010.

The symposium will see the participation of up to ten globally recognized poetic figures from India who will share pieces of poetry and literature with Urdu enthusiasts in Qatar.

Anjuman Muhibban-e-Urdu Hind (The Indian Urdu Lovers Association), affiliated to the Embassy of India’s cultural centre, strives to serve the Indian and sub-continent Urdu speaking community by promoting the importance of this popular and beautiful language. ‘Mushaira’ is an essential element of Urdu literary culture and these poetic performances are rich in tradition, singing and dramatic rendition.

Presenting the sponsorship cheque to representatives of Anjuman Muhibbane Urdu Hind, Chandramohan Pillai, Head of Administration and Facilities at IBQ said: “At IBQ, We recognize the significance of playing a productive role as devoted corporate citizens and ensure that our sponsorships help maintain solid ties with the various walks of our community. The Indian society is one of the fastest growing and oldest in the country. India and Qatar have enjoyed solid bilateral relations over the years and celebrating one of India’s most prominent cultural events is in line with IBQ’s core CSR values.”

The All India Poetic Symposium is a unique literary forum amongst the Indian socio-cultural organizations. Anjuman has continuously organised many grand All India Mushairas in the past few years. Anjuman’s Mushairas witnessed an increasing number of attendees reaching over one thousand Urdu poetry fans

• Offers cardholders up to 15 %  discount on dining at top hotels in addition to 5% Cash Back
• New promotion in response to strong customer take up of all new cards

Dining Promotion - Main Visual

Doha, January 25, 2009: Further highlighting its commitment to optimise value proposition for its cardholders, IBQ announced the launch of its second promotion under the merchant partner programme, offering up to 15 per cent discount on dining at a range of top hotels within the country. The discount promotion, titled “Perfect Recipe,” is available to all Platinum and Infinite credit cardholders of IBQ and is in effect from January 15 until February 28, 2010.

This exclusive promotion is in addition to the 5% Cash Back on all purchases currently offered by IBQ to its card members. The “Perfect Recipe” offer is valid on dining transactions at a wide range of premium restaurants located in Qatar’s leading luxury hotels. The hotels currently offering this unique promotional discount include Four Seasons Hotel, The Ritz Carlton, W Doha, Sheraton, The Intercontinental, and The Sharq Village Resort and Spa, all based in Doha.

“At IBQ, we believe that the key to our continued success lies in constantly exploring new ways to enhance our cardholder experience,” said Philip King, AGM of Retail Banking, IBQ. “We look to do this by forging new partnerships and offering more valuable discounts to our customers, on an ongoing basis. ‘Perfect Recipe,’ our second card-linked promotion in less than two months, has been developed in line with our pledge to make high-quality products and services more accessible to our customers.”

Driven by its continuing focus on serving diverse customer needs, IBQ’s credit card range, including IBQ Gold MasterCard, IBQ Platinum Visa and IBQ Infinite Visa, has continued to meet with a strong response.

“As a retail bank of choice within Qatar, it is our goal to be able to make a positive difference to the lifestyle aspirations of our customers. We are highly encouraged by the robust growth in our customer base and the continuing strong customer response to our full range of credit cards. In this regard, I am also delighted to note that the next 12 months will see a host of exciting rewards and promotions being offered by IBQ,” said King.

From the left: Ibrahim Al Nasr, General Secretary of National Campaign. Muhannad Kamal, Deputy GM of IBQ

To promote road safety awareness among the youth of Qatar, a major campaign, “Schools without Accidents,” was inaugurated lately in Doha. This announcement was made by senior officials of the government’s Traffic Department, Read the full story

• 50 per cent of bank clients actively logging on to ibqonline

• Enormous uptake of secure, state-of-art, 24/7 service testament to simplicity and range of options available at ibqonline

James Neslon-Parker, Chief Operating Officer of IBQ

Half of all IBQ customers are now accessing the bank’s services online, the Doha-headquartered bank announced today. This tremendous response from customers is especially significant, the bank pointed out, Read the full story

As part of its commitment to contribute to the ongoing professional development of its staff, IBQ announced today the launch of an innovative internal leadership programme. “Learn to Lead: Leadership Evolution,” a 12-month training programme, will provide 24 senior IBQ employees with the tools to improve their skills in critical areas such as leadership, decision-making, communication and project management among others. Read the full story

Bank sponsors ‘Schools without Accidents’ campaign organised by Government Traffic and Patrols Department

Supports campaign for second consecutive year, underlining commitment to corporate social responsibility activities

From The left: Sheikh Fahad bin Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani, Senior Corporate Relationship Manager. George Nasra, IBQ Managing Director. BRIGADIER ENG. Mohammed Abdalla Elmalki, Expert in traffic department & General Coordinator of National Campaign for Road Accidents Prevention. Lt. Colonel. Ibrahim A. Al-Nasr, General Secretary Of national campaign for Road Accidents Prevention

In line with its commitment to a wide range of corporate social responsibility activities, IBQ announced today that it is serving as sponsor of the country’s annual “Schools without Accidents” campaign Read the full story

In line with its strategy of developing unique and innovative financing solutions to meet different customer needs, Al Yusr Islamic banking service of IBQ announced today the launch of its latest Sharia-compliant financing product.

Read the full story

Al Yusr Islamic banking service launched today the annual Do Go Deeds in the Month of Charity campaign comprising a number of community-serving endeavors aiming at engaging and supporting various sectors of the public during Ramadan. Read the full story

From the right: Mr Bhupendra Jain, Head of Corporate Banking with Mr K.M. Varghese, President of the ICC, and Mr M. Habibun-Nabi, General Secretary of the ICC

Supporting its customers and its community, IBQ announced its co-sponsorship of India’s 63rd Independence Day celebrations which is organized by the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC), a wing of the Embassy of India. Read the full story