Jordan's Arab Bank says H1 net profit falls 2% to $415.2M

AMMAN- 29 July 2017: Jordan's largest lender, Arab Bank Group, reported a 2.3 percent fall in first-half net profit to $415.2 million from $424.9 million a year earlier.

A statement released on Saturday by the bank, one of the Middle East's major financial institutions, said its loan book and overall operations continued to grow despite exchange-rate fluctuations.

Total loans rose 4 percent to $24.7 billion as of the end of June, while deposits fell to $33.5 billion from $34.8 billion a year earlier.

Chairman Sabih al Masri said the bank was able to "adjust to a challenging business climate in a difficult economic environment" thanks to its diversified operations.

Arab Bank operates in 30 countries on five continents, and owns 40 percent of Saudi Arabia's Arab National Bank ANB . CEO Nemeh Sabbagh said liquidity continued to be robust with a loan-to-deposit ratio of 68.2 percent. The bank's provisions coverage ratio for non-performing loans stood in excess of 100 percent.

Net operational revenue rose 7 percent to $593.5 million excluding exchange rate fluctuations, the statement said. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; editing by Jason Neely)