Emirates NBD takes second place among MENA’s largest banks by loans
Yasmine elsayed
Translated and edited by Aya Elsayed
Emirates NBD reshaped the competitive landscape among the Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) largest banks in 2026, rising to second place in First Bank’s ranking of the top 10 banks by loans at end-June, supported by the fastest growth in net loans among its closest competitors during H1 2026.
According to FirstBank’s latest analysis, Emirates NBD climbed two places from fourth at end-2025 to second at end-June 2026, overtaking Saudi National Bank and Al Rajhi Bank. The move reflects a shift in the credit hierarchy among the region’s largest banks during the first half of the year.
Based on consolidated financial statements, Emirates NBD’s net loans rose 17.9 per cent to USD 203.22 billion at end-June 2026 from USD 172.31 billion at end-2025, an increase of more than USD 30.9 billion.
Saudi National Bank (SNB), by contrast, recorded more moderate growth, with net loans rising 1.2 per cent to USD 196.84 billion at end-June 2026 from USD 194.44 billion at end-2025, an increase of USD 2.40 billion.
Al Rajhi Bank also posted growth of 1.1 per cent in H1 2026, with its loan portfolio rising to USD 202.84 billion at end-June from USD 200.69 billion at end-2025, an increase of USD 2.14 billion.
The shift in rankings was driven less by differences in portfolio size than by the divergence in growth rates during H1 2026. NBD added more than USD 30.9 billion to its loan portfolio, compared with increases of just USD 2.40 billion at SNB and USD 2.14 billion at Al Rajhi Bank, enabling the UAE lender to overtake both and move into second place.
Despite the advance, the competitive positions of the three banks remain fluid given the narrow gaps between them. NBD is only about USD 380 million ahead of Al Rajhi Bank, while its lead over SNB stands at about USD 6.4 billion — a relatively small gap compared with loan portfolios exceeding USD 190 billion at each bank.
This suggests that the ranking could shift again if their rates of credit growth diverge in the coming periods.
The H1 2026 results also show that maintaining a leading position increasingly depends not only on the accumulated size of loan portfolios, but on sustaining credit growth and generating new loans at a faster pace than the market and competitors.
With the gaps between the region’s largest banks remaining narrow, the key question is whether NBD can sustain its credit momentum and consolidate its second-place position, or whether intensifying competition among the leading players will reshape the ranking again in the coming periods.
