business bites June 2022 77 www.bahrainthismonth.com Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB) has announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022. The bank reported a net profit of BHD 3.448 million attributable to the bank’s shareholders, compared to BHD 2.106 million for the same period of the previous year, with an increase of 63.18 percent. The increase in net profit is largely due to the growth of total income before return to investment account holders by 6.82 percent reaching BHD 13.703 million by the end of the first quarter of 2022, compared to BHD 12.828 million for the same period of the previous year. The financial results also showed an increase in total owners’ equity (after excluding minority interests) for the period ended March 31, 2022 by 0.64 percent reaching BHD 147.23 million, compared to BHD 146.30 million last year, as well as an increase in total assets for the period ended March 31, 2022 by 5.31 percent reaching BHD 1,228.11 million, compared to BHD 1,166.18 million last year. Total Deposits decreased by 0.81 percent reaching BHD 904.17 million compared to BHD 911.55 million last year. “These positive results reflect our commitment to continue building on our accomplishments, while basing our approach on a business model that guarantees us efficiency in operation, achieving more returns on investment in infrastructure, services and products,” says Chief Executive Officer of KHCB, Sattam Sulaiman Algosaibi. SOARING PROFITS A Kuwait-based financial technology application, Spare, has received a license from the Central Bank of Bahrain to operate as an open banking ancillary service provider in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The license will pave the way for Spare to kickstart their operations in Q2 of 2022. Spare is designed to encourage people to adopt smart and sound financial habits, breaks down spending and guides users to understand where their money is going. Spare will also allow users to make payments via account-to-account transfers and offer open banking bill payment solutions for businesses and merchants. “With Spare, we’re elevating the way people manage their money and providing hyper-personalised experiences, all powered through secure connections to their banking information,” says CEO and Co-founder at Spare, Dalal Alrayes. Open banking gives customers more choices and control over their financial data, and it opens up access to a variety of personalised financial products and services that are not available in the Middle East region. Open Banking in the Middle East is picking up momentum, and Spare’s analysis suggests that it is expected to reach over USD 1.2 billion by 2025 and that can grow faster as more countries in the region embrace open banking. The final TradeQuest Awards Ceremony was held at the BIBF auditorium under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain, and in the presence of the CBB Governor, HE Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, and Chairman of Bahrain Bourse, Abdulkarim Ahmed Bucheery. During the event, high school and university students taking part in the 20212022 TradeQuest Programme were honoured, with top finalists receiving cash rewards amounting to a total of BHD 30,000. The top three winners from the Private school category were Ibn Khuldoon National School (1st place), St. Christopher’s School (2nd place), and Al Noor International School (3rd place). The top three winners from the Government school category were Jidhafs Secondary Girls School (1st place), West Riffa Secondary Girls School (2nd place) and Al Noor Secondary Girls School (3rd place). The top three winners from the Universities category were BIBF (1st place), British University of Bahrain (2nd place), and Bahrain Polytechnic (3rd place). A total of 21 school teams and six university teams participated in the event. The ceremony was attended by students, investment advisors, senior representatives from sponsoring organisations, and senior officials from the Ministry of Education. PROMOTING SMART FINANCIAL HABITS THE YOUTH OF THE NATION
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