The bank's ownership is evenly divided between the Qatar Investment Authority and members of the public.

It had 35 employees in its first year and was initially headquartered in a government-owned building in Qatar's capital city, Doha.

As Qatar's population continued increasing through the century, QNB started establishing branches in other parts of the country.

The bank installed its first ATMs in 1988 in its Doha branches, and introduced VISA cards for its clients the next year.

[5] In 2013, QNB acquired Egypt's then-largest private-sector bank, National Société Générale Bank, from Société Générale, and rebranded it QNB Al Ahli.