«First» Index: Competition Intensifies for Third Place in MENA Financing… Gap Between «SNB» and «Emirates NBD» Falls to Its Lowest Level in 5 Years

After years of a widening gap between Saudi National Bank (SNB), ranked third, and Emirates NBD Group, ranked fourth in terms of total loan portfolio, competition between the two has entered a new phase. The gap has narrowed to its lowest level in five years, placing the third position under increasing pressure for the first time in years.

Monitoring conducted by «First Bank» on the evolution of loan portfolios among the largest banking groups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) shows that this shift reflects a clear reversal in competitive dynamics. After the gap continued to widen until the end of 2023, it began to shrink in 2024 and has maintained this trend through the end of the first quarter of 2026.

According to the consolidated financial statements of both groups, this gap has gone through two distinct phases over the past five years.

In the first phase, spanning from the end of 2021 to the end of 2023, the gap expanded लगातार, rising from $17.55 billion at the end of 2021 to $31.66 billion at the end of 2022, before reaching its peak at $39.20 billion by the end of 2023—an increase of more than 123% over two years. This reflected SNB’s clear advantage in credit expansion during that period.

The second phase, which began in 2024 and continues to date, witnessed a reversal in direction. The gap declined to $37.54 billion by the end of 2024, then to $22.14 billion by the end of 2025—a drop of nearly 41% in one year—before falling further to $10.69 billion by the end of March 2026, marking an additional decline of more than 51% in just three months.

This represents the lowest level in five years, highlighting a clear shift in competitive dynamics between the two groups, as the distance between them continues to shrink at an accelerating pace.

Performance in the first quarter of 2026 reveals the key drivers behind this shift. SNB continued to grow its loan portfolio, but at a modest pace, reaching $195.22 billion by the end of March 2026 compared to $194.44 billion at the end of 2025, reflecting a quarterly growth rate of only about 0.4%. This indicates a noticeable slowdown compared to the bank’s expansion rates in previous years.

In contrast, Emirates NBD delivered a much stronger performance, with its loan portfolio rising to $184.53 billion by the end of March 2026, up from $172.31 billion at the end of 2025, achieving a growth rate of 7.1% during the first quarter—more than fifteen times the growth rate of its competitor. This significantly contributed to narrowing the gap between the two groups within just three months.

These results suggest that the narrowing gap was not driven by a decline in SNB’s performance, which continued to post positive—albeit slower—growth. Rather, it was primarily the result of the strong momentum achieved by Emirates NBD in expanding its loan portfolio, supported by its diversified business base and broad regional and international presence, which enhanced its ability to close the gap in recent periods.

Despite SNB maintaining its position as the third-largest bank in the MENA region by loan portfolio size as of the end of March 2026, and Emirates NBD remaining in fourth place, the gap between them is no longer as wide as it was two years ago. This makes the results of the coming quarters decisive in determining whether the UAE-based group will succeed in capturing third place, or whether SNB will regain its credit momentum and widen the gap again to defend its position.