Al Rajhi Bank chairman says 308% of bad debt covered along with solid earnings

RIYADH: After reporting higher quarterly earnings, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Bank said it achieved 308 percent coverage of non-performing loans — bad debt, according to a statement.

Growth in net income from financing and investing activities in addition to banking brokerage services fees propelled solid first-quarter results, said Abdullah Al Rajhi.

The bank had earlier turned in profits of SR4.1 billion ($1.1 billion), up 24 percent from the same period a year ago, according to a bourse filing.

The profit jump was coupled with a 17 percent year-on-year rise in total operating income to SR6.9 billion.

Al Rajhi added that foreign investor ownership in the bank crossed 13 percent during the quarter, further contributing to the improvement.