Banks provide state coffers with JD261.3m income tax in 2016

AMMAN — Banks channelled JD261.3 million income tax to the state coffers in 2016 compared with JD280.16 million in 2015, the Association of Banks in Jordan (ABJ) Director General Adli Qandah said on Sunday. 

The figures are part of a comparative ABJ study on the performance of banks operating in the country in 2016 and 2015, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

The banks' pre-tax profit amounted to JD784 million and JD863.7 million in 2016 and 2015 while their net profit was JD522.8 million and JD583.6 million, respectively, according to the ABJ director, Petra, reported. 

In terms of branches’ number, the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance came first with 117 branches, followed by the Arab Bank with 74 branch across the country. 

The Jordan Islamic Bank tops Islamic banks in terms of branch’numbers, having 74 branches, according to Qandah. 

BLOM Bank and Bank Audi top the list of foreign banks in Jordan in terms of their branch numbers as each has 14 branches operating in the Kingdom, according to Petra. 

Citing the study, Qandah pointed out that banks' capital went up in 2016 to JD3.257 billion, marking a 2.3 per cent increase in comparison with JD3.185 billion in 2015. 

Commercial banks accounted for the biggest share of the capital of the financial entities which amounted to JD2.446 billion in 2016, posting 3 per cent year over year increase, Qandah added.

Total capital of Islamic banks in the Kingdom, whose number is four, remained unchanged at JD400 million, according to the study. Also, the capital of foreign banks operating in Jordan remained the same, at JD411.4 million in 2016 and 2015, the study indicated, according to Petra.