International Investment Bank half-year net income rises to $11.3 million

Bahrain: International Investment Bank (IIB), a globally focused Islamic investment bank based in the Kingdom of Bahrain, announced first-half net income of $11.3 million compared to $9.6 million for the same period last year.

Total income, which increased by 24.7 per cent to $23.3 million in the period, is mainly derived from investment banking fees generated from the structuring, underwriting and placement of new investments.

Total assets as of 30 June 2008 were $237.6 million compared to $257.3 million at year-end 2007 and $87.7 million at 30 June 2007. The increase in assets since 30 June 2007 was mainly due to the share issue that was completed in December 2007, which generated net proceeds of $138.9 million. The annualized returns for the first half of 2008 were 10.4 per cent on average.

Equity and 9.1 per cent on average assets, while the cost to income ratio was 51.7 per cent, which compares very favourably with that of other regional investment banks.

Capital adequacy ratio under Basel II was 133.1 per cent as of 30 June 2008 versus the Central Bank of Bahrain's minimum requirement of 12 per cent, demonstrating IIB's ample capacity to increase its investment portfolio in the future from a regulatory capital standpoint.