Gulf banks dominate First Bank’s MENA top 100 by loans at end-March 2026

Gulf banks continued to dominate First Bank’s ranking of the 100 largest banks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by loan portfolios at end-March 2026, retaining 58 positions — the same number recorded in the 2025 ranking.

Their combined loans rose 2.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter to USD 2.53 trillion at end-March, from USD 2.46 trillion at end-2025.

North African banks also maintained their representation at 22 positions. However, their combined loan portfolios declined to around USD 352.86 billion at end-March 2026, from USD 367.45 billion at end-2025, a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 3.9 per cent.

The decline was mainly attributed to the impact of weaker local currencies against the US dollar in a number of North African markets amid geopolitical tensions in the region at the beginning of 2026. This weighed on the dollar value of some banks’ loan portfolios and consequently contributed to declines in their positions in the ranking.

Among banks in the Mashriq region, the number represented in the ranking remained unchanged at 11, while their combined loan portfolios grew by around 3.04 per cent in Q1 2026 to USD 88.05 billion at end-March, from USD 85.45 billion at end-2025.

Turkish banks also retained nine positions in the ranking, with their combined loan portfolios growing by 3.7 per cent during Q1 2026 to around USD 375.37 billion at end-March, from USD 361.91 billion at end-2025.

Credit activity remains concentrated among the largest banks

The ranking showed that credit activity remained heavily concentrated among the region’s largest banks, with the top 10 accounting for around 47 per cent of the combined loans of the 100 banks included in the ranking.

Combined loans at the top 10 banks rose by around 2.4 per cent in Q1 2026 to approximately USD 1.55 trillion at end-March, from USD 1.51 trillion at end-2025, underscoring the continued concentration of a significant share of lending among a limited number of major banking institutions in the region.

Relative stability among the top 10

The ranking of the 10 largest banks in the MENA region by loan portfolios remained relatively stable during Q1 2026, with only one change in position. National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) moved up to ninth place, while National Bank of Egypt (NBE) slipped to 10th, compared with the 2025 ranking.

QNB Group topped the ranking of the region’s 10 largest banks by loan portfolios, with loans of around USD 282.04 billion at end-March 2026.

Al Rajhi Bank ranked second, with a loan portfolio of USD 200.83 billion at end-March.

Saudi National Bank (SNB) ranked third, with loans of around USD 195.22 billion at the end of the same period.

Emirates NBD took fourth place, with loans of around USD 184.53 billion at end-March 2026.

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) ranked fifth, with a loan portfolio of USD 181.73 billion at end-March.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) came sixth, with loans of USD 115.90 billion at end-March 2026.

Ziraat Bank ranked seventh, with a loan portfolio of around USD 115.03 billion at end-March.

Riyad Bank ranked eighth, with a loan portfolio of around USD 100.47 billion at end-March 2026.

NBK moved up to ninth place, with a loan portfolio of around USD 88.87 billion at end-March, while NBE slipped to 10th with loans of around USD 87.15 billion.

The ranking was based on banks’ reported loan portfolios at end-March 2026, converted into US dollars to provide a standardised basis for comparison across institutions. Banks without available official data were excluded to ensure the accuracy of the results and the reliability of the methodology.

The ranking included parent banking groups across the Middle East and North Africa, while excluding their overseas branches.