«First Bank» List of the Top 100 Lending Banks in the Middle East and North Africa

UAE Leads the Ranking with 16 Banks… Jordan Comes Second with 11 Banks

Saudi Arabia Strengthens Its Presence with 10 Banks

Kuwait and Turkey Maintain Strong Representation with 9 Banks Each

Balanced Representation for Qatar, Bahrain, and Morocco with 8 Banks Each

Oman Records 7 Banks… Egypt Represented by 6 Banks

Five Tunisian Banks Among the Top 100 Lenders in MENA

Limited Presence of Algerian Banks with Only Two Banks

Palestine Represented by One Bank in the Ranking

The «First Bank» list of the top 100 lending banks in the Middle East and North Africa by the end of September 2025 revealed that the UAE banking sector led the ranking, securing 16 positions, reflecting its regional leadership in lending activity and benefiting from strong economic momentum and diversified financing opportunities.

Jordanian banks ranked second with 11 banks, maintaining solid credit momentum and demonstrating resilience in expanding loan portfolios despite surrounding geopolitical challenges.

In the Saudi market, banks showed strong presence with 10 banks, highlighting their expanding lending activities and growing role in supporting economic growth.

Meanwhile, Kuwait and Turkey reinforced their positions with 9 banks each, while the list showed balanced representation for Qatar, Bahrain, and Morocco, with 8 banks per country.

On the other hand, Oman recorded 7 banks, while the Egyptian banking sector was represented by 6 banks within the ranking.

Tunisian banks accounted for 5 banks, whereas Algeria’s representation remained limited to only two banks, and Palestine was represented by one bank in the classification.

The ranking was based on banks’ total loan portfolios denominated in US dollars, providing a unified benchmark for comparison across banking institutions. It excluded banks lacking officially disclosed financial data to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the methodology.

Regarding the top 10 banks in the ranking, «QNB Group» secured first place with total loans reaching approximately 274.50 USD bn by the end of September 2025.

«Al Rajhi Bank» ranked second, with a loan portfolio of around 201.59 USD bn.

«Saudi National Bank » came third, recording loans of approximately 193.35 USD bn.

«Emirates NBD» ranked fourth, with total loans of about 164.34 USD bn.

«First Abu Dhabi Bank » secured fifth place, with a loan portfolio reaching approximately 162.29 USD bn.

«Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank» came sixth, with total loans of around 109.27 USD bn.

«Riyad Bank» ranked seventh, with loans amounting to approximately 98.39 USD bn.

«Ziraat Bankası» secured eighth place, recording total loans of about 94.13 USD bn.

«National Bank of Egypt (NBE)» came ninth, with total loans reaching approximately 91.54 USD bn.

Finally, «National Bank of Kuwait » ranked tenth, with a loan portfolio of around 85.25 billion USD by the end of September 2025.

It is worth noting that the ranking included parent banking groups across the MENA region, excluding their foreign subsidiaries.