«First Bank» List of the Top 100 Arab Banks by Shareholders’ Equity – End of September 2025

The UAE Continues to Lead the Arab Banking Landscape… 18 Emirati Banks Included in the List of the Largest 100 Arab Banks by Shareholders’ Equity

Strong Egyptian Presence in the Ranking… 11 Banks Secure Positions Among the Arab Heavyweights

Saudi Arabia Strengthens Its Presence with 10 Banks… Strong Representation from Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan with 9 Seats Each

Balanced Representation for Bahrain and Morocco… 8 Banks per Country on the List

Oman Supports Its Regional Presence with 7 Banks… Tunisia Records Representation through 5 Banking Institutions

Iraq Registers a Presence with Three Banks… Lebanon with Two

Limited Participation from Palestine with One Seat in the Ranking

The «First Bank» list of the Top 100 Arab Banks by Shareholders’ Equity as of end-September 2025 revealed clear Emirati dominance over the Arab banking landscape, with UAE banks capturing 18 seats in the ranking—an indication of the robustness of Emirati banks’ capital bases and their high capacity to absorb risk.

The Egyptian banking sector ranked second, with 11 banks included in the list, reflecting the success of banks operating in the Egyptian market in strengthening shareholders’ equity through retained earnings and capital increases.

In the Saudi banking sector, Saudi banks demonstrated clear capital strength, securing 10 seats within the ranking.

The classification also showed strong representation from Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan, with 9 banks each, while Bahrain and Morocco claimed 8 seats per country.

In contrast, banks from the Sultanate of Oman accounted for 7 seats, while Tunisia recorded representation through 5 banks.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s representation was limited to three banks, Lebanon to two banks, and Palestine to one bank, reflecting the structural and economic challenges affecting the ability of banks in these markets to expand their capital bases.

The ranking was based on banks’ reported shareholders’ equity, denominated in USD, providing a unified comparison tool across different banking institutions. Banks for which no official data were available were excluded to ensure the accuracy of results and the reliability of the adopted methodology.

Top 10 Banks in the Ranking

At the top of the list, Saudi National Bank secured first place, with shareholders’ equity amounting to USD 52.54 bn as of end-September 2025.

Emirates NBD captured second place, with shareholders’ equity of approximately USD 38.12 bn as of end-September 2025.

First Abu Dhabi Bank ranked third, with total shareholders’ equity of USD 37.68 bn as of end-September 2025.

Al Rajhi Bank occupied fourth place, with shareholders’ equity reaching USD 36.67 bn as of end-September 2025.

Qatar National Bank dominated fifth place, with shareholders’ equity of around USD 33.21 bn as of end-September 2025.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank ranked sixth, with shareholders’ equity totaling USD 21.64 bn, followed by Kuwait Finance House, which reported shareholders’ equity of USD 21.05 bn as of end-September 2025.

Saudi British Bank secured eighth place, with total shareholders’ equity of approximately USD 20.81 bn, followed by Riyad Bank, with shareholders’ equity of about USD 19.45 bn over the same period.

The tenth place went to National Bank of Kuwait, with shareholders’ equity amounting to approximately USD 17.98 bn as of end-September 2025.

It is worth noting that the ranking includes parent banking groups across Arab countries and excludes their foreign subsidiaries.