Amman: Shareholders in Jordan's Housing Bank for Trade and Finance's, the country's second-largest lender, approved a cash dividend for 2009 only 5 per cent lower than the previous year, despite a 34 per cent fall in net profit, in a vote of confidence in the bank.
The total dividend payout amounts to 50.4 million dinars (Dh259 million), or 20 per cent of the bank's total 252 million dinars capital, the bank said in a statement after its AGM.
Housing Bank for Trade and Finance's 2009 net profits fell 34 per cent to 66.6 million dinars, despite a 6 per cent growth in income, as the bank put aside 68 million dinars of provisions for non-performing loans.
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Most Jordanian banks are setting aside higher provisions to cover possible defaults and non-performing loans by businesses and real estate firms reeling from the impact of the global downturn on the aid-dependent economy.
Michel Marto, the bank's chairman, told shareholders, without elaborating, that first quarter results were "better in terms of profitability and activities than the same period last year".
Although profitability was hurt last year by the impact of the global downturn on the Jordanian economy, the bank's overall activities continued to show healthy growth, Marto said.The bank's assets rose 12 per cent in 2009 to 6.1 billion dinars against the previous year.
Housing Bank's main shareholders are Qatar National Bank, with over 35 per cent, followed by Libya's Foreign Bank with a 15 per cent shareholding and Kuwait's Real Estate Investment Consortium with over 10 per cent.
