Commercial Bank of Qatar has posted a net profit of QR1.605bn ($439m) for the full year 2013 compared to QR2bn recorded in the previous year, marking a fall of 20 per cent fall in annual profits.

Profits did pick up for the final quarter of 2013. The bank reported profits of QR300m for the final three months of the year, a 7 per cent uptick in volume compared to the preceding quarter.

The drop in full year profit is mainly as a result of the high provisioning the bank implemented.

Customer loans and advances did increase during 2013, rising by 38 per cent to hit QR66.9bn. Customer deposits increased by 53 per cent to reach QR63.4bn.

Commercial Bank of Qatar is aiming to increase its business supporting GCC-Turkey trade having acquired a stake in Turkish bank Alternatifbank in the first half of 2013.