Al-Shal: 3.8% growth in National Bank's net operating income
Al-Shal's report reveals a 3.4% rise in Kuwait National Bank's net profits alongside growth in operating income.
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
The “Al-Shal” report covered National Bank of Kuwait’s announcement of its results for the first nine months of 2026. The results showed that the bank’s net profit (after tax) reached approximately KD 515.1 million, an increase of KD 16.7 million, or 3.4%, compared to approximately KD 498.4 million for the same period in 2025.
In detail, this was achieved due to the absolute increase in total operating revenues exceeding the increase in total operating expenses.
The bank recorded a profit attributable to shareholders of approximately KD 481.7 million, compared to approximately KD 467.4 million for the same period last year, representing an increase of approximately KD 14.3 million, or 3.1%.
Net operating revenues rose by approximately KD 36.7 million, or 3.8%, reaching approximately KD 1.006 billion, compared to approximately KD 969 million for the same period last year.
This was driven by an increase in net interest income (covering both conventional and Islamic segments) to approximately KD 754.3 million, up from approximately KD 748.9 million, an increase of approximately KD 5.4 million, or 0.7%.
The bank recorded net income from Islamic financing of approximately KD 167.3 million, compared to approximately KD 162 million for the same period last year.
On the other hand, the bank’s operating expenses increased by approximately KD 15.7 million, or 4.3%, reaching approximately KD 380.3 million, compared to approximately KD 364.6 million at the end of September 2025.
According to Al-Shal’s estimates, assuming the exclusion of the impact of consolidating Boubayan Bank’s results on operating expenses, operating expenses rose from approximately KD 267.4 million to approximately KD 280.8 million, an increase of approximately 5.0%.
Total provisions amounted to approximately KD 24 million, an increase of approximately KD 12.1 million, or 102.1%, compared to approximately KD 11.9 million, offset by a decrease in the value of taxes.
The bank’s financial data indicate that total assets recorded an increase of approximately KD 1.305 billion, or 2.9%, reaching approximately KD 46.918 billion, compared to approximately KD 45.613 billion at the end of 2025. This represents an increase of approximately KD 2.008 billion, or a growth rate of 4.5% when compared to the total at the end of September 2025, which stood at approximately KD 44.910 billion. Excluding the impact of consolidating Boubayan Bank’s results, the growth rate would be approximately 3.5%.
The customer loan and advance portfolio, including Islamic financing, which constitutes the largest contributor to the bank’s assets, increased by 5.1%, valued at KD 1.378 billion, bringing the total portfolio to approximately KD 28.193 billion (60.1% of total assets), compared to KD 26.816 billion (58.8% of total assets) at the end of 2025.
This represents an increase of approximately KD 2.141 billion, or a growth rate of approximately 8.2%, when compared to the same period in 2025, when the total portfolio stood at approximately KD 26.052 billion (58.0% of total assets).
Figures indicate that the bank’s liabilities (excluding equity) increased by KD 1.487 billion, or 3.7%, reaching approximately KD 41.449 billion, compared to approximately KD 39.963 billion at the end of 2025.
This represents an increase of approximately KD 2.034 billion, or a growth rate of 5.2%, when compared to the total at the same period last year, which stood at approximately KD 39.415 billion. Excluding the impact of consolidating Boubayan Bank’s results, the growth rate would be approximately 4.0%.
The ratio of total liabilities to total assets stood at approximately 88.3%, compared to approximately 87.8% in the same period last year.
Results of the financial data analysis, calculated on an annual basis, indicate that most of the bank’s profitability indicators recorded a decline compared to the same period in 2025. The return on average assets (ROA) fell to approximately 1.5%, down from 1.6%. Meanwhile, the return on average shareholders’ equity (ROE) for the bank’s shareholders decreased to around 13.9%, from 14.6%, while earnings per share (EPS) remained stable at approximately 49 fils at the end of both periods.
