Riyad Bank announced earnings results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2016. For the year, the company reported net profit of SAR 3,342 million against SAR 4,049 million a year ago. Earnings per share were SAR 1.11 against SAR 1.35 a year ago. Net income decreased because of an increase in total operating expenses by 11.1%, mainly due to increase in impairment charge for credit losses, impairment charge for investments and other general and administrative expenses, offset by decrease in other operating expenses. For the fourth quarter, the bank registered a net profit to SAR 293 million against SAR 851 million a year ago. Net income decreased by 65.6% because of higher total operating expenses by 47.9%, mainly due to increase in impairment charge for credit losses partially offset by decrease in salaries and employee-related expenses and other operating expenses. The total operating income saw a decline of 2.9%, mainly due to decrease in fee and commission income, partially offset by increase in gains on non-trading investments.