Housing Bank Chairman Michel Marto announced on Saturday in a press release that the bank generated JD70 million profit before tax and after provisions during the first half of 2012 compared with JD72 million during the same period of last year. Net profit after provisions and after tax amounted to JD51.2 million compared with JD54.4 million in the same period of 2011, he added in the press statement. Marto attributed the decline mainly to the situation in Syria where the bank operates a subsidiary under the name International Bank for Trade and Finance. “The Housing Bank increased total income during the first half of this year by 10 per cent to JD162.1 million compared to JD147.7 million during the same period of 2011," the press release indicated, noting that these results are preliminary and non-approved yet by the Central Bank of Jordan. “Net interest income rose by 22 per cent to JD115.6 million compared with JD95.1 million," it said. At the end of June 2012, total assets stood at JD6.8 billion, customer deposit balances amounted to JD4.8 billion, and total credit facilities reached JD2.8 billion. According to the press statement, capital adequacy stood at 20.2 per cent, which is higher than the 12 per cent minimum required by the Central Bank of Jordan. The bank also continued to maintain high levels of liquidity which, at 172 per cent, exceeded the 100 per cent minimum acceptable by the supervisory authorities. Efficiency index (the proportion of expenses to income) improved from 39.3 per cent during the first half of 2011 to reach 35.2 per cent during the first half of 2012. This level is considered one of the best levels in the banking system in Jordan. Marto described the results of external branches in Bahrain and Palestine, and those of the subsidiaries: International Bank for Trade and Finance, Syria, The Housing Bank for Trade and Finance, Algeria, and the Jordan International Bank “JIB", London, as good levels of achievement compared with the balances at beginning of the year. Three new branches were opened in the Kingdom during the first half of 2012 bringing the number of branches operating in Jordan to 115. These branches are supported by 199 ATMs ranking the bank at the top in Jordan in terms of the number of branches and ATMs. Jordantimes
