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Satyendra Pathak
Doha
An average 9.5 percent growth in net profit and 3.2 percent growth in total assets of listed banks in Qatar in 2018 demonstrate the strength and opportunities in the banking sector of the country, KPMG Qatar has said in its latest report.
According to the first edition of KPMG’s annual Qatar banking perspectives, 2018 has been quite a positive year for the banking sector in Qatar.
Qatar is committed to adopting revised Basel IV guidelines and the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has already initiated consultative guidelines on the subject, the report said.
Qatar has already adopted and implemented the Basel III framework ahead of some of its GCC peers.
“Given the scale and scope of the impact of IFRS 9, implementation efforts are likely to continue as banks refine and work on the supporting areas or infrastructure to ensure all facets of the standard run smoothly,” the report said.
Culture and governance has moved rapidly up the global agenda of financial institutions in recent years, with increasing interest amongst companies in Qatar.
Recently, the report said, regulators in Qatar have started to look at culture, behaviour and standards of conduct.
They have been focusing on how they can prevent or manage similar issues that have arisen globally.
While most of Qatar’s banks have had good governance structures and have had relatively good governance reports included in their annual reports, there are a few areas that banks will need to improve upon, the report said.
“One of the areas of focus is the quality and diversity of a bank’s board of directors. Board members must collectively possess adequate expertise and a deep working knowledge of all key functions and businesses of the bank. Furthermore, their skill sets and expertise must be commensurate with the size, complexity and risk profile of the bank,” the report said.
Most Qatari banks have had a well-defined and transparent board selection and nomination process, it said adding qualifications, skills and experience requirements are discussed and agreed at the bank’s board nomination and remuneration committee, prior to the appointment of a new candidate, to ensure the board collectively possesses a diverse set of skills.
However, the selection and appointment process for board of directors will now have to be further refined, formalised and disclosed appropriately to ensure compliance with the new regulations.
It is expected that from early 2020, Qatar will introduce value-added tax (VAT) at a standard rate of 5 percent in line with the Gulf Cooperation Council VAT Framework, the report entitled ‘Qatar banking perspectives 2019’ said.
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19/07/2019
1093