Amman  - The Arab Bank Group posted a 24.4-per-cent increase in net profits in the first quarter of the year, to 232.8 million dollars from 187.1 million dollars in the same period of 2007, the group's chairman Abdul Hamid Shoman said Sunday.

He attributed the group's record profits in the first three months of the year to the management's "policy of averting risks and the distribution of investments among various sectors and geographic areas."

The Arab Bank Group's total assets grew by 21.6 per cent, to 40.5 billion dollars from 33.3 billion dollars in the first quarter of 2007, Shoman said.

He also reported an 18.4-per-cent increase in the clients' deposits, to 25.7 billion dollars from 21.7 billion dollars. (dpa)