QIIB has posted a first-quarter net profit of QR223.1mn, up 5.1% on the same period last year.  
Announcing the results here yesterday, QIIB chairman and managing director Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah al-Thani said the results clearly reflected the “success of the bank’s strategy” in continuing to grow and face market challenges.
The bank was also able to successfully cope with “internal and external factors” affecting the market during the previous months.
He said, “We attribute our success and strength to the Qatari economy, which continues to achieve excellent growth in various sectors. We are also proud of the development of Qatar’s economy under the patronage of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.”
Sheikh Dr Khalid said the current large-scale projects in the domestic market were capable of “creating significant growth opportunities” for many sectors, particularly banking. And with QIIB’s focus on the domestic market and specific opportunities with limited risks, available externally, continuous growth driven by good figures is achievable and on hand.
QIIB CEO Abdulbasit Ahmed al-Shaibei said the bank earned total revenue of QR400.3mn in the first quarter compared with QR352.4mn at the end of the same period last year, a growth of 13.6%.
He said the bank’s total assets at the end of the first quarter rose to QR41.3bn with a growth rate of 11.4%. Financing portfolio increased to QR25.7bn compared with QR23.2bn at the end of the same period last year, reflecting a growth of 11%. 
QIIB’s deposits increased to QR27.9bn, up 10.8% on the same period in 2015. Capital adequacy under Basel III reached 17%, which reflects the strength of the bank’s financial position.
Al-Shaibei said, “These results have become possible because of strenuous efforts put in by the bank to meet various circumstances faced by the market, although we believe that the Qatari economy is strong, provides all the opportunities, and embedded with factors that enable market participants to grow sustainably.”
The CEO said, “The large number of infrastructure projects and major projects provide continuous growth avenues for most sectors, including banking. All experts agree that Qatar’s economy will be one of the few in the region to continue achieving strong growth figures thanks to its high liquidity, strong reserves and success in diversification initiatives. We at QIIB rely on all these factors and we were able to achieve this growth in the first quarter of 2016.”
He said, “QIIB works actively in the local market and effectively engages in supporting various projects- regardless of whether they are major infrastructure projects or small and medium enterprises. QIIB attaches top priority to SMEs and gives special attention to them. In fact, the bank is a pioneer in supporting the SME projects. We are delighted that this type of projects has long-term developmental effects, which are reflected on a wide group of the community”.
Al-Shaibei indicated that QIIB was in the process of issuing the first tranche (as part of its Tier 1 sukuk) of QR1bn in accordance with the Basel III requirements. 
He emphasised that the “market challenges are enormous and they compel us to focus more on our core banking activities and create new opportunities and revenue streams even while adhering to proven risk management policies.”
He stressed that “QIIB continues to work strongly to enhance our customer base and we give importance to our strategic development. In parallel with the geographic expansion through a network of new branches and ATMs, we invest in alternative channels such as Internet banking, mobile banking and call centre services.”