Riyadh - Mubasher: The net losses of Saudi British Bank (SABB) deepened by 3,403.6% in the second quarter (Q2) of 2020 to stand at SAR 6.87 billion as compared to SAR 196 million in the year-ago quarter.
The surge in net loss was primarily driven by an impairment of goodwill by SAR 7.418 billion, according to a recent bourse statement.
This is a one-time accounting loss that neither affects the bank's capital, liquidity, funding nor its strategic strengths and competitive advantages, the bank stressed.
The goodwill impairment was caused by the temporary inflation of the bank's share price at the time of the merger of SABB and Alawwal Bank and the unprecedented and unexpected emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Excluding the one-off impact of the goodwill impairment, the net income before Zakat and income tax was higher by SAR 310 million due to a rise in total operating income.
In the first half (H1) of 2020, the lender turned to a net loss of SAR 5.9 billion, against a net profit of SAR 910 million in the year-ago period.
