Sharjah Islamic Bank increases foreign ownership of shares to 40%

Sharjah: Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) shareholders have approved increasing the percentage of foreign ownership of the bank’s shares to 40 per cent, it was announced on Monday.

At the bank’s Annual General Meeting, it was also decided to distribute 8 per cent of cash profits to shareholders after the lender achieved Dh514.1 million net profit last year, a 26.7 per cent jump over 2020, when the figure stood at Dh405.8 million.

Operating profits increased by 21.9 per cent, from Dh697.7 million in 2020 to Dh850.7 million in 2021.

During the virtual meeting, the appointment of the bank’s board of directors, consisting of nine members, was approved for a period of three years.

Strong capital base

Sharjah Islamic Bank enjoys a strong capital base, with total shareholders’ equity at the end of December 2021 reaching Dh7.7 billion, representing 14 per cent of the bank’s total assets. Capital adequacy ratio, according to Basel III norms, stands at 20.84 per cent.

In terms of the balance sheet, the bank’s total assets achieved a growth of 2.5 per cent to reach Dh55 billion, compared to Dh53.6 billion in 2020, while the total facilities granted to customers stabilised at Dh29 billion. New customers and deposits grew by 14.5 per cent to reach a total of Dh38.5 billion compared to Dh33.6 billion at the end of 2020.

Excellent liquidity

Sukuk payable decreased by Dh1.8 billion to reach Dh3.7 billion at the end of the financial year as against Dh5.5 billion as at December 31, 2020, due to the repayment of $500 million in the third quarter through the bank’s own sources, indicating an excellent level of liquidity.

Despite the ongoing economic impact of the pandemic and the continuation of the bank’s hedging policy, net impairment provisions amounted to Dh244.5 million, compared to Dh255.8 million in the previous year, a decrease of 4.4 per cent.