First International Bank of Israel, the country's fifth-largest bank, on Thursday posted a twofold rise in quarterly net profit, boosted by lower bad debt provisions and higher operating income.
FIBI reported third-quarter net profit of NIS 167 million (about $44 million) or NIS 1.66 a share, compared with NIS 55 million ($14 million) or NIS 0.55 a share a year earlier.
Income from financing operations before provision for doubtful debts fell 2% from a year earlier to NIS 536 million ($142 million). The provision for doubtful debt fell 32.5% to NIS 56 million ($15 million)
Operating and other income rose 38.4% in the quarter, partly due to the sale of investments in Bezeq Israel Telecom and cable company HOT .
"The First International Bank is continuing to display a high level of stability and financial resilience concurrent with a growth in profitability. In the third quarter of the year, we attained a favorable double-digit return on equity," Smadar Barber-Tsadik, the bank's chief executive, said in a statement.
The bank's capital adequacy ratio rose to 14.3% from 12.3% at the end of 2008.
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