AMMAN — The Housing Bank’s general assembly on Thursday
approved a distribution of cash dividends shareholders at a rate of 12 percent of the share nominal value for the
2020, the bank said in a press statement.
اضافة اعلان
At the same meeting, the general assembly approved the
board of directors’ report, the financial statements for 2020, and the bank’s
business plan for 2021, as well as electing Deloitte as an external auditor to
audit the company’s accounts for 2021, the statement said.
In line with the provisions of Defense Order No. 5 of
2020 and the procedures issued by the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Supply
on April 9, 2020, the Housing Bank held its 48th general assembly for
shareholders via videoconference.
Housing Bank Chairman Abdel Elah Al-Khatib presided over
the meeting, which was attended by shareholders holding 94.739 percent shares
of the bank’s capital. The meeting was also attended by the general comptroller
of companies, representatives of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), and a
Deloitte representative.
During the meeting, Al-Khatib expressed his appreciation
for the Companies Control Department’s efforts to digitalize of many of its
essential services and the role its general comptroller has played in
facilitating business procedures.
The chairman said that 2020 was an exceptionally
challenging year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that the bank,
nonetheless, continued to play its “effective and pivotal role”. Among its
achievements, the Housing Bank provided JD3.1 million of financial assistance
to health, educational, and social institutions and its employees donated more
than JD500,000 to support the Ministry of Health’s efforts to combat the
effects of the pandemic, the statement said, adding that the bank adopted
measures called for by the CBJ to alleviate the financial impact of the
pandemic on its clients.
Al-Khatib stated that the bank achieved recorded “sustainable
growth in its operational profits and total income” despite last year’s
difficulties, which he said confirms the Housing Bank’s ability to adapt to and
overcome challenges. The bank achieved JD203.5 million in operational profits
(8.6 percent higher than 2019) and JD42.5 million net profit (50.8 percent
lower than 2019), the statement said. This decrease in net profit was
attributed to booking additional loan loss provisions for the bank’s loan
portfolio — a decision made to protect the bank from the negative economic
conditions resulting from the pandemic, the statement said.
The bank maintains a strong capital base, with total
equity amounting to approximately JD1.2 billion at the end of 2020 (compared to
JD1.1 billion in 2019), while the capital adequacy ratio reached 17.4 percent
and the liquidity ratio stood at 127 percent, both higher than the requirements
of the CBJ and the Basel Committee. The bank’s total assets amounted to JD8.3
billion at the end of 2020, customer deposits amounted to JD5.5 billion, and
credit facilities reached JD4.7 billion at the end of the year 2020 (a growth
of 1.2 percent compared to the previous year), the statement said. The bank
maintained sustainable growth in total income, totaling JD364.3 million
(compared to JD361 million in 2019) despite the decrease in global interest
rates and the temporary stoppage of fee and commission collection in the bank
group’s main markets due to the pandemic.
The bank maintained its leading position in the Jordanian
banking market, with a network of 118 branches and offices across the entire
Kingdom, the statement said, adding that the bank maintains 215 ATMs
nationwide.
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