«First» Index: A three-way competition between «SAB», «Dubai Islamic Bank» and «Kuwait Finance House» for a spot in the top ten club among the largest lending Arab banks
Mahynar Mohamed
The «First Bank» ranking of the top 100 Arab lending banks by the end of 2025 revealed an intense battle among banks to break into the top ten club.
The data showed a strong three-way competition between SAB, Dubai Islamic Bank, and Kuwait Finance House for the tenth position.
According to the ranking, SAB secured 10th place with a loan portfolio of $79.62 billion by the end of 2025, followed by Dubai Islamic Bank in 11th place with loans totaling $71.35 billion.
Kuwait Finance House ranked 12th with loans reaching $70.86 billion by the same year-end, reflecting a notable convergence in loan portfolio sizes among the three banks, which has intensified competition.
Over the period from 2022 to 2025, competition among these banks proved to be volatile, with significant shifts in rankings alongside a general trend of narrowing gaps in loan portfolio sizes—highlighting escalating competition and increasingly similar performance levels.
At the end of 2022, Kuwait Finance House led with a loan portfolio of $61.46billion, ahead of Dubai Islamic Bank at $50.66 billion, and further ahead of SAB, which recorded $48.74 billion.
By the end of 2023, Kuwait Finance House maintained its lead with $63.21 billion in loans. However, the competitive landscape shifted notably, as SAB overtook DubaiIslamic Bank, recording $57.59 billion compared to $54.31 billion for Dubai Islamic.
The scene changed again by the end of 2024, with SAB taking the lead at $69.03 billion, ahead of Kuwait Finance House at $61.91 billion, and Dubai Islamic Bank at $57.84 billion.
By the end of 2025, SAB retained its lead, while Dubai Islamic Bank succeeded in overtaking Kuwait Finance House, with a clear narrowing of the gaps.
The difference between SAB and Dubai Islamic Bank stood at $8.27 billion, while the gap between Dubai Islamic Bank and Kuwait Finance House shrank to just $492.8 million.
These indicators reflect that competition among the three banks has reached an advanced stage of convergence, where differences in loan portfolio sizes are no longer as large as before. Instead, ranking movements have become dependent on relatively small margins.
This suggests that the race for the tenth position will remain open in the coming periods, with continued shifts in rankings likely as each bank strives to grow its loan portfolio at a faster pace than its competitors.
