Arab Bank Group delivered strong financial performance in the first nine months of this year, reporting net income after tax of $405.8 million as compared to $271.7 million for the same period last year with an increase of 49%.

The Group’s core banking activities kept up the momentum in most areas of operations delivering solid underlying growth in loans and deposits.  At the end of September 2022, loans were up by 4% from September 2021 level to reach $35.6 billion, while deposits reached $47.8 billion, up by 3% from the 2021 level.

Mr. Sabih Masri, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated that the strong performance shows the growth potential and resilience that diversification brings to the Bank despite the challenging economic environment. Mr. Masri expressed his confidence in the Bank’s ability to continue to grow based on its sound strategy, while maintaining the strength of its balance sheet.

Ms. Randa Sadik, Chief Executive Officer, stated that the underlying results reflect Arab Bank’s earnings capacity strength with 13% growth in net operating income across the Bank’s lines of business. This is primarily driven by the increase in total net interest and commission income; in addition to the controlled operating expenses. Ms. Sadik added that the Group’s liquidity and asset quality remains solid where loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 74.3%, and credit provisions held against non-performing loans continue to exceed 100%. Arab Bank Group maintains strong capital base that is predominantly composed of common equity with capital adequacy ratio of 16.4%.

Ms. Sadik noted that Arab Bank is on track to deliver its strategic digital transformation objectives, providing a comprehensive range of banking solutions and seamless customer experiences across the network and segments.

Earlier this year, Arab Bank was named “Best Bank in the Middle East 2022” for the seventh consecutive year by New York-based international publication “Global Finance”.

New York-based Global Finance magazine has recently named Arab Bank the “Best Consumer and Corporate Digital Bank in Palestine 2022”.The bank also received many awards in recognition of its corporate and consumer digital banking services across the region.

Arab Bank was chosen by a world-class panel of judges, which included experts in consulting, technology, and outsourcing, in addition to the magazine’s team of editors. The criteria of selection included: strength of strategy for attracting and servicing digital customers, success in getting clients to use digital offerings, growth of digital customers, breadth of product offerings, evidence of tangible benefits gained from digital initiatives, web/mobile site design and functionality, and the breadth of its product and service offering.

This global recognition complements Arab Bank’s significant success record and comes as a result of its constant efforts to deploy the latest digital banking solutions and services that meet the needs of its customers across the different sectors, and commitment in line the latest technologies in the banking industry.

On the regional level, Arab Bank received a total of five recognitions for its corporate and consumer services, which included Best Integrated Consumer Banking Site, Best Bill Payment and Presentment, Best Information Security and Fraud Management, and Best Open Banking APIs. The bank also received “Best SME Banking” award on the corporate level.

It is worth mentioning that Arab Bank was recently named “Best Bank in the Middle East 2022” by Global Finance for the seventh consecutive year.

For the eighth consecutive year, Arab Bank and INJAZ Palestine renew the “Schools’ Renovation” agreement to renovate six public schools in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. 


The agreement entails providing infrastructure support and development for six schools, selected across five different governorates (Hebron, Salfit, Tulkarm, Jenin, Ramallah, Al-Bireh) through paint work, the renovation of old windows, and the repair of drinking fountains, school yards and sports fields. This is in addition to establishing a garden in one of the schools. 


Commenting on this initiative, Country Manager at Arab Bank – Palestine, Mr. Jamal Hurani said: “For the past eight years, the schools’ renovation program across its environmental, educational, development and voluntary aspects has been an integrated part of Arab Bank’s strategy through its social responsibility program “Together”, which provides a healthy learning environment for students as well as training programs for both the teachers and the students to build on their capabilities and skills with the participation of Arab Bank employees in different volunteering activities.” 


Chairman of INJAZ, Mr. Emad Hindi, expressed his pleasure in the renewal of this agreement that is in line with the mission and vision of INJAZ to partner with the private sector to provide a healthy environment for students to develop their necessary life and academic skills.  


For her part, INJAZ Palestine General Manager Ms. Rania Kutteneh, thanked Arab Bank for its constant support and trust manifested through its membership in the board ever since INJAZ was established. This reinforces the active role undertaken by INJAZ in building the youth’s skills to become successful business leaders and entrepreneurs in the future. 


The “Schools’ Renovation” initiative, implemented for the eighth year, will conclude this year with 42 school renovations at a budget that exceeds USD 1 million, providing  students with a healthy and safe learning environment which will positively impact their academic achievements. 


It is worth noting that the agreement is part of Arab Bank’s social responsibility program “Together” that aims to serve the community in areas related to health, poverty alleviation, environmental protection, education, and orphan support.

Arab Bank Group reported net income after tax for the first quarter of 2022 of $166 million as compared to $128.3 million for the prior period, recording an increase of 29.4%.

The Group loan portfolio grew by 5% to reach $35.2 billion as of March 31, 2022 compared to $33.5 billion for the same period last year, while customer deposits grew by 3% to reach $47.3 billion compared to $45.8 billion for the same period last year. The increase in loans and deposits in most areas of operations are in line with the Bank’s sustainable growth strategy to expand and diversify its clients and deposit base. The Group maintained its strong capital base with a total equity of $10.2 billion.

Mr. Sabih Masri, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated that the results achieved by the Bank in the first quarter of this year, reflect the Bank’s strong financial position and its ability to deliver sustainable performance, while prudently managing the regional and global developments.

Miss Randa Sadik, Chief Executive Officer, stated that the underlying performance of the Group continues on its growth path with first quarter results driven by an increase in core banking income and a lower cost of risk, highlighting that the Bank’s net interest and commission income increased by 6.3% compared to prior period, despite ongoing market volatilities.

Miss Sadik commented that Arab Bank Group enjoys strong liquidity in the form of a granular deposit base and strong capitalization where loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 74.3%, and the capital adequacy ratio is at 16.5% in accordance with Basel III regulations. Miss Sadik also added that the asset quality of the Group remains high, with credit provisions held against non-performing loans continue to exceed 100%.

Mr. Masri concluded by expressing his confidence in the Group’s ability to maintain its leading position and to capture new business opportunities to deliver sustainable profitable growth.

Arab Bank – Palestine hosted an iftar with a group of its employees for children and their guardians at the SOS Children’s Villages in Bethlehem. The iftar gathered over 140 attendees including Mr. Jamal Hurani, Country Manager at Arab Bank – Palestine and Mr. Mohammed Shalaldeh, National Director at SOS Palestine, as well as a group of Arab Bank employees and SOS Palestine staff.

The iftar comes as part of the community initiatives held for Arab Bank employees and in line with the bank’s efforts to continuously support orphaned children and those who lost their caregivers.

Commenting on this initiative, Mr. Jamal Hurani said: “This initiative comes as a continuation of our cooperation with the SOS Children’s Villages and in line with our corporate social responsibility program “Together”, which supports initiatives aimed at enhancing social solidarity and supporting those who lack parental care, especially children, with the participation of our volunteering employees.” Hurani added: “We value the vital role undertaken by the SOS Children’s Villages - Palestine in providing care and a decent life for its children.”

For his part, Mr. Mohammed Shalaldeh stated: “The SOS Children’s Villages values Mr. Jamal Hurani and Arab Bank’s visit to our villages, we consider these visits and the support provided to children lacking parental care as part of the social responsibility of Palestinian corporations, banks and institutions operating in the private sector.” 
It is worth mentioning that Arab Bank has recently supported one of the homes at the SOS Children’s Villages that provides care and parental support to orphaned children as part of the bank’s social responsibility program “Together”. The SOS Children’s Villages – Palestine is a non-profit organization registered in Palestine as part of the global SOS Children’s Villages, which operates in over 136 countries and territories around the world to provide alternative care for children who lost parental care or are at risk of losing it. This mission is carried out by providing children with nurturing homes within SOS Villages where they live with a loving mother, brothers and sisters in a family atmosphere that enables them to develop their individual relationships and abilities, and helps them lead independent lives to face future life challenges.

Miss Randa Sadik has assumed the role of Arab Bank Chief Executive Officer as of February 1st, 2022, succeeding Mr. Nemeh Sabbagh who retired upon his request with effect of January 31st of this year.


Miss Sadik joined Arab Bank in July 2010 as Deputy Chief Executive Officer, a position she held since then. With over 36 years in banking, Miss Sadik previously held various leadership roles during the course of her 24 years at National Bank of Kuwait, the last of which was the General Manager of the international banking group. She holds an MBA degree from the American University of Beirut. 


On Miss Sadik’s appointment, Arab Bank’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Sabih Masri, affirmed the board’s confidence in Miss Sadik’s proven track record and ability to lead the executive management team in propelling Arab Bank’s success journey and fulfilling the bank’s ambitious vision towards reinforcing its leading position, both locally and regionally. 


Miss Randa Sadik holds several positions within Arab Bank Group, among which are Chairman of the Board of Arab Tunisian Bank, Vice Chairman of Arab Bank Australia ltd, Board member of Oman Arab Bank, and Chairman of the Management Committee of Al-Arabi Investment Group.


In its latest issue, Forbes Middle East has named Randa Sadik among the 50 most powerful businesswomen in the Middle East, ranking her seventh on the list.