First Bank releases the latest edition of the top 100 banks in Arab countries

The UAE dominates the Arab banking scene with 18 banks and Jordan comes in second with 12 banks

A balanced presence for Egypt and Saudi Arabia with 10 banks each and Kuwait strengthens its position with 9 spots

Qatar, Bahrain, and Morocco participate with 8 banks each and Oman secures 7 spots

4 Tunisian banks appear on the list and limited representation for Lebanon and Algeria with two banks each

Limited participation for Palestine and Iraq with only one bank each

The First Bank list of the top 100 banks in Arab countries at the end of 2025 revealed a clear dominance of the UAE banking sector, which led the scene with 18 banks in the ranking. This reflects the strength and regional spread of Emirati banks.

Jordan came in second place with 12 banks, indicating the wide base of the Jordanian banking sector. Meanwhile, Egypt and Saudi Arabia had 10 banks each, with a noticeable difference in the size of assets between them.

The Kuwaiti banking sector strengthened its presence with 9 spots. The list also showed a balanced presence for Qatar, Bahrain, and Morocco with 8 banks each, with the Qatari banking sector leading in terms of asset size.

Oman recorded a presence of 7 banks, which is the lowest among Gulf countries in both number and asset size. Tunisia secured 4 spots in the ranking, compared to a limited representation for Lebanon and Algeria with two banks each.

As for the lowest representation, it went to Palestine and Iraq with one bank each, reflecting the limited participation of these two sectors in the ranking.

The ranking was based on ordering banks according to their total assets announced at the end of 2025 in US dollars. This provides a unified tool for comparison between different banking institutions. The ranking excluded banks that did not have official data available to ensure the accuracy of the results and the reliability of the method used.

Regarding the most significant changes in the top ten Arab banks at the end of 2025, First Abu Dhabi Bank rose to the first place among Arab banks with assets reaching 382.23 billion dollars. Meanwhile, Qatar National Bank dropped to second place with an asset portfolio of 380.67 billion dollars.

The banks from third to eighth place kept their positions without change compared to the First Bank list at the end of September 2025.

Saudi National Bank took the third place with assets of 322.61 billion dollars, followed by Emirates NBD in fourth place with an asset portfolio of 317.04 billion dollars.

Al Rajhi Bank controlled the fifth place with an asset portfolio of 278.15 billion dollars at the end of last December.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank occupied the sixth place with an asset size of about 210.64 billion dollars.

National Bank of Egypt took the seventh place with an asset portfolio of about 191.03 billion dollars, and National Bank of Kuwait took the eighth place with assets of about 148.14 billion dollars.

On the other hand, Kuwait Finance House and Riyad Bank swapped their positions. Kuwait Finance House rose to ninth place with assets of about 138.88 billion dollars, while Riyad Bank dropped to tenth place with assets of 138.50 billion dollars.

It is important to mention that the ranking included the parent banking groups in different Arab countries and did not include their foreign subsidiary banks.