Arab Bank's 2010 net profit falls 53 percent

Arab Bank's 2010 net profit fell 53 percent to $251 million after it set aside hefty provisions for bad loans for a second consecutive year. Arab Bank, one of the Middle East's major financial institutions, put aside $178 million in provisions for non-performing loans in 2010 compared with $207 million in 2009, according to financial statements released on Monday.
The statement showed that the assets of Arab Bank Group, which includes Arab Bank Switzerland based in Zurich, rose to $51.1 billion at the end of 2010 against $50.5 billion in the same period 2009. The bank's total outstanding loan portfolio rose to $22.5 billion by end of December against $22 billion in the same period the previous year.