Dr Abdulmalik Abdullah Al-Hogail
Chairman
It is my pleasure, on behalf of the Board of Directors, to present Alinma Bank’s Annual Report for the financial year that ended on 31 December 2022.
The reporting period saw a revitalization of global economies, with acceleration toward revamped goals. In this environment, the Saudi economy continued on a growth trajectory in line with reestablished global growth.
In a macro sense, the Kingdom recovered strongly in 2022, buoyed by higher oil prices and non-oil exports, reform momentum, and fiscal support from our visionary leadership, which greatly contributed to our economic resurgence. The Saudi Nationalization Scheme decreased unemployment, with women continuing to make significant strides in representation in the private sector, making their contribution felt across the expanding Saudi economy.
Alinma Bank took full advantage of this economic expansion, formulating strategies rooted in digitally sound retail and corporate financial solutions. The Bank introduced innovative products across its entire customer base, improved turn-around-times in operations, and bolstered its position as a fully Shariah-compliant institution. In terms of employment, Alinma Bank led the banking sector in Saudization efforts and cemented itself as an employer of choice.
Understanding latent and emergent customer needs, we made informed decisions, leveraging advantages in data analysis and utilizing “Digital Attacker” strategies to scale and expand into new products and untapped market segments.
Customer centricity remained a hallmark of the Alinma Bank approach, and guided us as we revamped our retail, corporate, and treasury strategies, while innovating and equipping ourselves with transformative technology.
We up-skilled our teams, and we strived to proactively engage with all stakeholders, even on a one-to-one basis through digital platforms, where appropriate. Key accomplishments in 2022 were strongly linked to digital transformation and the continued digitization of the customer experience, with our newly established Digital Factory unit leading the way. As a result, Alinma saw tangible improvement across all business and operational departments in service of our customer base, and assured accuracy, agility, and operational efficiency.
With a focused growth approach, the Board of Directors committed to ensuring that Alinma remained compliant with regulatory requirements and worked within a risk mitigated environment. Long-term value creation was ensured through effective corporate governance, risk management oversight, internal control implementation, and statutory compliance. Of prime focus for the Board, was adherence to the “Key Principles of Governance in Financial Institutions” issued by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), which set forth best practices recognized internationally. Of equal importance was adherence to the rules and regulations of the Capital Market Authority (CMA), which are designed to regulate and reinforce transparency in the capital markets. Internally, Shariah-compliance remained a guiding focus.
In terms of performance, Alinma Bank recorded a 33% increase in net income to reach SAR 3.60 Bn. in 2022, bolstered by an operating income of SAR 7.96 Bn., which itself saw a year-over-year increase of 20%. Our total assets increased by 16% to SAR 200.4 Bn., while our net financing portfolio increased to SAR 146.5 Bn., up 16.0% year-over-year, which was a strong contributor to our balance sheet. Such impressive growth was supported by strong risk mitigation, quick-to-market digitalization, and effective management by a team of skilled professionals with diverse experience and customer-centric commitment. Our brand exposure improved significantly, with bolstered visibility through sponsorship of professional sports activities in the kingdom, as well as implementation of several Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
Having closed the 2022 reporting period on a high note, it is only proper to extend sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister, Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, for their ongoing committed support for the security and the economic development of the Kingdom, and the many fiscal and monetary policies implemented by them to strengthen the standards of the financial industry. I extend our thanks to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and other regulatory and governmental authorities, that ensure a safe and regulated environment in which to operate. I am deeply grateful for the support of the Chairman and members of the Shariah Board of the Bank and for their valuable advice and input. I thank the Board of Directors for their visionary insights and consistent support in leading the Bank; and I am grateful to the Alinma Bank staff, for their dedication and integrity, which are invaluable in gaining and retaining customer confidence and loyalty.