DUBAI: Qatar National Bank, the Gulf’s biggest bank by assets, on Tuesday reported a 10% increase in annual net profit driven by loan growth. Its 2021 net profit rose to 13.2 billion riyals ($3.6 billion), QNB said in a statement, up from 12 billion a year earlier.

The bank’s profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was 2.9 billion, according to Reuters calculations. The results were slightly above analyst estimates, which expected the company to report about 12.7 billion, according to data from Refinitiv.

Ratings agency Fitch in October indicated it could cut the ratings of all banks in Qatar, saying it was concerned over the sector’s increasing reliance on external funding and a recent rapid growth in assets. Foreign funding was $193 billion at the end of August, Fitch said, representing 48% of the Qatari banking sector’s liabilities compared with $121 billion and 38% at the end of 2018.