Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), the Doha-based sharia-compliant lender, has received the shareholders’ nod to increase the size of its sukuk (Islamic bond) programme.

The bank has increased the limit of the Additional Tier 1 perpetual sukuk programme by 50 per cent to QR7.5bn ($2.06bn) from the current QR5bn, QIB said in a statement posted on the website of Qatar’s bourse, where its shares are traded. The move is subject to Qatar Central Bank approval, it added.

Lenders in the region are under pressure from regulators to increase their capital ratios to comply with the new global banking requirements.

The shareholders also approved the financial results for 2016, and gave the nod to the board’s recommendation to distribute 47.5 per cent cash dividends of the nominal value per share, which equals QR4.75 a share.

QIB reported a 10 per cent increase in total assets at the end of 2016 to QR139.8bn, while customer deposits grew by 4 per cent to QR95.4bn. It recorded a 22 per cent jump in total income to QR5.488bn.

The lender, the largest by assets in Qatar, is looking at investment opportunities in the Qatari market, and plans to consolidate in markets abroad.