Kuwait Finance House secures ninth place in the ranking of the largest Arab banks, overtaking Riyad Bank

The «First Bank» list of the top 100 banks in the Arab world by the end of 2025 revealed a highly competitive situation among major banks, as Kuwait Finance House advanced to ninth place, while Riyad Bank slipped to tenth place, compared to the «First Bank» ranking of the top 100 Arab banks by the end of September 2025.

This movement in ranking reflects how sensitive positions within the top ten are, as they are affected by relatively small differences in financial performance indicators among banks.

According to the consolidated financial statements of both banks, Kuwait Finance House’s asset portfolio increased by about 17% during 2025, reaching USD 138.88 bn by the end of last December, compared to USD 119.17 bn at the end of 2024, an increase of USD 19.71 bn.

Meanwhile, Riyad Bank’s asset portfolio rose by about 15% during 2025, reaching approximately USD 138.50 bn by the end of last December, compared to USD 120.15 bn at the end of 2024, achieving an increase of USD 18.35 bn.

Looking at the evolution of competition between the two banks over the past five years, their rankings have shown notable fluctuations.

At the end of 2020, Riyad Bank was ahead with assets of about USD 82.66 bn, compared to USD 70.80 bn for Kuwait Finance House, a gap of USD 11.86 bn in favor of Riyad Bank.

The gap widened further by the end of 2021 to USD 14.65 bn, with Riyad Bank maintaining its lead at USD 86.77 bn versus USD 72.12 bn for Kuwait Finance House.

However, the situation changed significantly by the end of 2022, when Kuwait Finance House moved ahead with assets of USD 120.85 bn compared to USD 95.73 bn for Riyad Bank, recording a lead of USD 25.13 bn – the largest gap during the comparison period.

Kuwait Finance House maintained its lead by the end of 2023, with assets of USD 123.69 bn versus USD 103.17 bn for Riyad Bank, although the gap narrowed to USD 20.52 bn.

By the end of 2024, Riyad Bank regained the lead, with assets of USD 120.15 bn compared to USD 119.17 bn for Kuwait Finance House, with a very narrow difference of USD 983 mn.

By the end of 2025, Kuwait Finance House once again reclaimed the top position with assets of USD 138.88 bn compared to USD 138.50 bn for Riyad Bank, narrowing the gap to about USD 377 mn – the smallest in five years, highlighting extremely intense competition.

Despite Kuwait Finance House holding the lead, the very small gap with Riyad Bank reflects strong competition, where leadership is no longer decisive but depends on marginal differences in growth performance.

This confirms that the ranking structure among major banks remains flexible and can shift with even slight improvements in performance.