National Bank of Kuwait K P : Transcript of the Analysts Conference

PUBLIC

FY 2021 National Bank of Kuwait Earnings Call

Wednesday, 02 February 2022

Edited transcript of National Bank of Kuwait earnings conference call that took place on Tuesday, 01 February 2022 at 15:00 Kuwait time.

Corporate participants:

Mr. Isam Al-Sager - Group CEO, NBK

Mr. Sujit Ronghe - Acting Group CFO, NBK

Mr. Amir Hanna - Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, NBK

Chairperson:

Elena Sanchez - EFG Hermes

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Operator:	Good day and welcome to the National Bank of Kuwait 2021 results conference call.
	Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference
	over to Elena Sanchez. Please go ahead now.
Elena Sanchez:	Thank you and Good afternoon and good morning everyone. This is Elena Sanchez and
	on behalf of EFG Hermes, I would like to welcome you all to the National Bank of
	Kuwait fourth quarter and 2021 results conference call. It is a pleasure to have with
	us in the call today Mr. Isam Al-Sager, NBK Group CEO, Mr. Sujit Ronghe, NBK Acting
	Group CFO and Mr. Amir Hanna, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate
	Communications at NBK. At this time, I would like to handover the call now to Mr.
	Amir Hanna.
	Thank you.
Amir Hanna:	Thank you Elena.
	Good afternoon everyone. We are glad you joined us today for our FY 2021 earnings
	webcast.
	Before we start, I would like to bring to your attention that certain comments in this
	presentation may constitute forward-looking statements. These comments reflect the
	Bank's expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual
	results to differ materially and may adversely affect the outcome and financial effects
	of the plans described herein. The Bank does not assume any obligation to update its
	view of such risks and uncertainties or to publicly announce the result of any revisions
	to the forward-looking statements made herein. Also I would like to refer you to the
	full disclaimer in our presentation for today's call.
	We will start the call by some remarks from our Group CEO, Mr. Isam Al Sager,
	followed by a detailed presentation on the quarterly and full year financials by Mr.
	Sujit Ronghe, our Acting Group CFO. Following the management presentation, we will
	answer your questions in the order they were received. Also, feel free to send any
	follow-up questions to our Investor Relations email address. And for your
	convenience, today's presentation is already available on our Investor Relations
	website.
	Now let me handover the call to Mr. Al-Sager for his opening remarks.

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Isam Al Sager:	Thank you Amir.
	Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for joining us today for our quarterly earnings
	webcast.
	I am glad to join you today to update you on our performance, the key trends we
	witnessed as well as our key strategic initiatives during the year. From a
	macroeconomic front, the combined effect of the improving health situation,
	relaxation of restrictions and policy support allowed the global economy to expand
	and business activity to continue to revive in 2021. Despite the uncertainty
	surrounding the resurgence of Covid-19 variances, we believe that the peak of the
	pandemic has passed and economies became more effective in the face of potential
	implications. Given the fact that many risks might interrupt the recovery for 2022,
	NBK maintains its cautiously optimistic view with respect to growth prospects and a
	rebound in economic activity.
	The operational environment in Kuwait is promising in 2022 and we are positive with
	regards to the opportunities that will emerge; in light of the high vaccination rates
	which would eventually enhance business sentiment and contribute positively to
	economic growth. This will also be supported by the state's improving fiscal standing
	from the recovery of oil prices.
	Kuwait's economy witnessed a moderate rebound that was characterized by higher
	consumer spending, improvement in business activity and volumes as well as gradual
	recovery in government spending and project awarding, which is estimated to have
	reached KD 1.5 billion in 2021.
	Prospects for improvement in the political front looked better following a successful
	National Dialogue. Gridlocks appear to have been resolved in a spirit of executive-
	legislative compromise; creating more room for mutual understanding to the passing
	of the long-waited fiscal reforms and laws. Furthermore, and as the post pandemic
	recovery and the political scene continue to stabilize, the projects markets is expected
	to see further recovery with an estimated KD 3.0 billion worth of awards in 2022.
	Moving on to NBK, the strong growth and financial performance that was delivered in
	2021 across all business lines has further improved the Bank's bottom line. Thanks to
	the proactive and conservative approach that NBK adopted since the beginning of the
	pandemic, we now bear the fruits of recording lower cost of risk levels that
	contributed positively in growing our net profits. Net profits for the year reached
	362.2 million Kuwaiti Dinar; achieving a 47.1% increase over 2020.
	Despite the continued state of uncertainty stemming from the repercussions of the
	pandemic, the Bank maintained its commitment towards achieving its strategic
	objectives. Our digital transformation continues to top our strategic agenda and we
	laid the foundation for future growth by launching Weyay, Kuwait's first digital bank,
	to better attract and serve the needs of the youth.

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