The bank says it has now written down 84 per cent of its exposure to US investments.

It previously reported provisions of nearly $1bn in the first half of 2008.

MEED reported in October that GIB was understood to have additional exposure of $100-500m from its US investments (MEED 25:10:08).

The bank also reported a fall in the value of its assets to $25.6bn, from $29.9bn at the end of 2007, due to a $1bn decline in the value of its trading portfolio, and a fall in the size of its investment portfolio.

The bank's asset book is now only marginally larger than it was at the end of 2006.

The bank’s loan book increased by $900m during the first nine months of 2008, to $13.5bn, after expanding rapidly during 2007 from $8.1bn to $12.6bn.

GIB chairman Jammaz bin Abdullah al-Suhaimi says the bank continues to have the full support of its shareholders, which comprise the six GCC governments, despite its recent losses.