Capital Bank of Jordan PSC : General Assembly approves 2016 financial results, and the distribution of 5 percent dividends to shareholders

Capital Bank recently held its annual General Assembly meeting, approving the financial results and annual report of the bank as of December 2016 and the recommendation of the Board of Directors to distribute dividends totaling 5 percent of the bank's JOD 200 million capital. The meeting was attended by shareholders representing 88.7 percent of the bank's capital.

Capital Bank had previously reported favorable financial results for the year 2016, with profits before tax and before contingency allowances for investment risks in Iraq reaching JOD 40 million, compared with JOD 23 million in 2015. Net profits after tax reached JOD 16.1 million compared to JOD 1 million in 2015.

Capital Bank's Chairman of the Board Bassem Khalil Salem indicated that the group has continued to achieve solid growth in its main banking activities, with net revenues from interest and commissions reaching JOD 81.8 million - a 12 percent increase over 2015's 72.9 million. Total income also grew by 24.6%, reaching JOD 94.2 million compared to JOD 75.5 million in 2015. Net credit facilities rose by around JOD 60 million, totaling JOD 970 million, while total assets in 2016 reached JOD 2.01 billion compared to JOD 1.99 billion in 2015.

Salem also noted that national economic indicators have begun showing notable improvements in Q1 2017, particularly with regards to expatriates remittances and income from tourism, with the first growing by 3.3 percent and the latter by an impressive 17.7 percent. This has been accompanied by an improvement in national exports, which grew by 6.6 percent as of March 2017. He also noted that if the Trebeel border crossing opens as a result of the positive political and security developments in Iraq, it will have favorable ramifications on the economies of Jordan and neighboring countries, thereby positively impacting the operations of the bank's branches in Jordan as well as the National Bank of Iraq, in which Capital Bank has a 62 percent share.

Salem further explained that the progress made in the operations implemented by the Iraqi government toward combating ISIS and increasing government control over all Iraqi territories will bring a swift resolution to any remaining security concerns, which in turn will spur economic development as restoration programs and strategic economic initiatives are initialized.

Salem also announced that the National Bank of Iraq has received an official letter from the Central Bank of Iraq detailing a road map for the settlement of the pending payments of its branches in the Kurdistan region starting June 2017. He further explained that Capital Bank's management has deemed it necessary to continue its conservative policy with regards to investments in Iraq, an issue on which it is liaising directly with the Central Bank of Iraq and the assigned external auditors. This, he emphasized, will reinforce the capital bases of both Capital Bank and the National Bank of Iraq.

In closing, Salem also took the opportunity to thank the government and Central Bank of Jordan for their steadfast efforts toward resolving the issue of the frozen deposits at the National Bank of Iraq.

The General Assembly also approved the appointment of Mr. Ahmad Hanandeh as a member of Capital Bank's Board of Directors, while Mohammad Haj Hassan, Khalid Nabulsi and Dawod Al Ghul were elected as new members of the Board.