Profit posted by public shareholding banks rose by 3.3 per cent during the first quarter of this year although half these banks, whose total number is 14, saw a drop in their profit. At the end of March, the banks’ net profit stood at JD145.3 million compared with JD140.6 million during the same period of last year whereas their pre-tax profit was JD185 million compared with JD189 million. In terms of individual performance, Arab Bank posted the highest increase in net profit which reached JD80.8 million compared with JD68.1 million. Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank managed to cut its losses to JD687,000 in the January-March period of this year compared with a loss of JD1.5 million during the same period of last year. Another two banks, Capital Bank of Jordan and Jordan Commercial Bank were among those whose profit dropped to around JD855,000 and JD916,000 compared with JD3.4 million and JD2.2 million, respectively.