RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is home to a third of Forbes Middle East’s “30 Most Valuable Banks,” with a 25 percent annual rise in the Kingdom’s entities’ accumulative market value.
The 10 Saudi entries on the list — the same number as in the 2023 ranking —have a combined weighting of $279.5 billion, according to a statement.
Al Rajhi Bank was placed top, having seen its market value grow by $21.7 billion over the last 12 months to hit $96.6 billion.
Saudi National Bank was in second place and deemed to be worth $68.2 billion.
The newly released report, which features the profitable and customer-centric banking titans in the Middle East, is constructed by compiling data from financial institutions in the region that are listed on stock exchanges in the Arab world as well as indexed firms based on their reported market value as of Feb. 23. The rankings exclude subsidiaries of other listed companies.
Moreover, the index, which covers seven markets, revealed that the 30 banks had a combined value of $581.1 billion, up 14 percent over the last 12-month period. Additionally, Gulf entities dominated this year’s ranking, with 26 of the 30 based in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
This is mainly attributed to the fact that the region’s banking sector has shown resilience over the last year, supported by higher interest rates and oil prices.
Moreover, according to Forbes’ new list, the UAE follows the Kingdom with seven entries at a market value of $128.7 billion, while Qatar placed third with six entries worth $73.6 billion.
Abu Dhabi Bank was placed third in the list with $41.5 billion in market value.
Combined, the top three banks in the rankings amassed $206.3 billion in market value, constituting over 35 percent of the aggregate worth of the 30 banks on the ranking.
According to Fitch Ratings’ 2024 outlook report, rising interest rates and oil prices will support overall solid economic conditions for the Middle East as well as maintain reasonable levels of liquidity, profitability, and adequate capital buffers in most GCC banking systems in 2024.
