First Bank launches a new classification of 50 largest banks in the Arab world

«First Bank» website issued a new classification of the 50 largest Arab banks, which revealed clear Gulf dominance over the banking sector in the region, amid a noticeable superiority of Saudi and Emirati banks, and strong competition from Qatari and Kuwaiti banks, while some major Arab economies witnessed limited representation on the list.

Saudi and Emirati banks topped the Arab banking scene, each obtaining 10 positions on the list, followed by Qatari and Kuwaiti banks with eight banks for each country, which reflects the solidity of the financial systems in these countries and their high regional competitiveness.

On the other hand, Egypt won four places in the classification, while the representation of the Sultanate of Oman and Morocco was limited to two banks each, while Lebanon appeared with only one bank, which highlights a clear disparity in the geographical distribution of Arab banking power, and raises questions about the opportunities for rebalancing the map.Financial influence in the future.

The classification is based on ranking banks in descending order according to the volume of assets declared in US dollars, allowing a unified comparison between different banks, knowing that banks for which reliable official data are not available have been excluded.

Regarding the ranking of banks, Qatar National Bank (QNB) topped the list of the 50 largest Arab banks in terms of asset size for the year 2024, with assets exceeding $356.13 billion, while First Abu Dhabi Bank came in second place in the Arab world and first in the Emirates, with assets amounting to $330.35 billion at the end of the same year.

Saudi National Bank came in third place in the Arab world and first in Saudi Arabia with assets amounting to $293.89 billion at the end of 2024, followed by Emirates NBD in fourth place in the Arab world and second among UAE banks with assets amounting to $271.36 billion at the end of the same year.

Al Rajhi Bank ranked fifth in the Arab world and second in Saudi Arabia, as its asset portfolio exceeded the barrier of $259.35 billion, followed by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank in sixth place in the Arab world and third among UAE banks, with total assets reaching $177.73 billion by the end of 2024.

The National Bank of Egypt ranked seventh in the Arab world and first among Egyptian banks, with assets amounting to approximately $159.5 billion at the end of 2024, while the National Bank of Kuwait ranked eighth in the Arab world and first in Kuwait, with assets amounting to $130.97 billion for the same period.

Riyad Bank took third place in Saudi Arabia and ninth among Arab banks with total assets of $119.88 billion, followed by Kuwait Finance House Bank in tenth place in the Arab world and second among Kuwaiti banks with a volume of assets that reached $119.17 billion by the end of 2024.