The Commercial Bank (CBQK) Q3 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Net profit for the nine months ended 30 September 2025 was QAR 1.79 billion after Pillar Two Tax, down from QAR 2.34 billion year-over-year, mainly due to lower net interest income and higher loan impairment charges, partially offset by higher fee income.

• A QAR 169 million tax charge was recorded due to the new global minimum tax, with possible reversal pending regulatory relief, which could restore the effective tax rate to 2%-2.5% for up to five years.

• Loans and advances to customers rose to QAR 104 billion, up 14.7% year-over-year.

• Customer deposits increased 10.4% to QAR 85.7 billion year-over-year.

• Net interest margin compressed to 2.2% from 2.7% in the prior year period.

Financial highlights

• Operating income declined 5.7% year-over-year, mainly from contraction in net interest income and a one-off QAR 50 million loss on sale of repossessed property in Turkey.

• Net provisions increased to QAR 603 million, with net cost of risk on loans at 69 bps.

• Operating expenses increased year-over-year, driven by investments in people, digital innovation, and higher costs in Turkey; cost-to-income ratio reached 30.2% group-wide.

• Total assets reached QAR 191.98 billion, up 18% year-over-year.

• Investment securities portfolio expanded 28% to QAR 39.3 billion, with 77.7% in government bonds.

Outlook and guidance

• 2025 financial guidance has been withdrawn pending a new strategic plan, to be updated in Q1 2026.

• Cost of risk expected to remain elevated through 2027, with normalization to 70-90 bps from 2028 onward.

• The Group is evaluating the impact of new IFRS standards effective from 2026 and 2027.

• Qatar's GDP growth projected at 2.4% in 2025, with strong fiscal support and major infrastructure projects underway.

• Bank is well positioned to benefit from Qatar's strong economic growth forecast for 2026 and 2027.