Qatar National Bank QPSC Q4 2020 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Aybek Islamov - HSBC, Research Division - Analyst : A couple of questions from me, please. The first one I think relates to your group NII in mid performance. I think in 2020 you were able to cut your funding cost quite substantially, right, and your NII growth you registered 4%. What's your outlook for 2021, your ability to manage funding costs lower versus the interest income that you earn? That will be quite useful to hear from you. And the second one is your provisioning policy. So it's been quite conservative already 2020. I'm looking at your loan loss reserve to loan ratio, it's all-time high compared to your multiyear history. And you just mentioned that you still expect NPL ratios to grow but mostly outside of Qatar, right? So what do you think would be the pressure on the cost of risk? Do you need to maintain the same level of cost of risk as you did in 2020? Or do you think there is room for cost of risk to decline, right? And last year, I presume your cost of risk was predominantly driven by the collective provision expenses, so some color on these 2 will be very useful. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. JANUARY 18, 2021 / 9:30AM, QNBK.QA - Q4 2020 Qatar National Bank QPSC Earnings Call

Question: Aybek Islamov - HSBC, Research Division - Analyst : Just a follow-up question from me. Speaking of the GCC landscape where the relationships with -- well, between Qatar and the rest, which you see are normalizing, what are your thoughts about the impact on the Industries, say, airlines, capital markets, the capital flows, inter-GCC capital flows in particular? So yes, that will be very useful to hear from you.

Question: Aybek Islamov - HSBC, Research Division - Analyst : And in terms of the capital flow in particular, for example, pre-GCC crisis, I think GCC banks [who have] big depositors with big-time institutions, financial institutions, do you expect this to change rapidly? Or do you think this will also be a gradual condition?