KUWAIT CITY, Jan 21: The National Bank of Kuwait, the emirate’s top lender, reported on Monday a marginal rise in its 2012 net profit, overcoming what it said was a turbulent and stagnant year for the banking sector.

NBK said its net income for 2012 was 305.1 million dinars ($1.08 billion) compared to 302.4m dinars ($1.07bn) in 2011, a mere 0.9 per cent year-on-year rise. Its fourth quarter to December net profit, however, dipped by 2.0 per cent to $263.8m from $269.1m in the corresponding period of the previous year.

NBK group Chief Executive Officer Ibrahim Dabdoub said the bank’s performance was “strong” despite the ongoing economic challenges.

He said that “2012 was a turbulent year for the banking sector in Kuwait as the operating environment remained stagnant.” “Government spending was insufficient and the tendering of new projects remained behind schedule, leading to slower economic activity and an underperforming stock market.”

But he expressed optimism for 2013 on the back of a more dynamic fiscal policy by the government which he expected will accelerate spending on mega projects. The bank’s assets, meanwhile, grew a healthy 20.6 per cent in 2012 to $58.2bn from $48.2bn a year earlier, while shareholders equity rose 6.0 per cent to $8.1bn from $7.7bn.

NBK has 64 branches in Kuwait and another 107 that cover 16 countries in the Middle East and other leading financial centres, including London, Paris, New York and Singapore.—AFP