NCB still leads field as Saudi banks hold firm

摘要

Saudi Arabia's banks have held their own in The Banker's Top 1000 World Banks ranking, even as the country's headline economic growth ground to a virtual standstill. And while 2020 is set to be one of the most challenging on record - thanks to local coronavirus restrictions, a collapse in oil prices and the slashing of interest rates by the central bank - the country's largest banks are likely to retain their strong positions in the region.National Commercial Bank (NCB), placing 94th in 2020's Top 1000 ranking, maintains its status as the country's largest lender, and the fourth largest lender in the Middle East behind Qatar's QNB (at 72) and the UAE's FAB and Emirates NBD (at 85 and 87, respectively).NCB's Tier 1 capital base grew by 5.3% to $18.7bn in 2019, with assets increasing by an impressive 11.9%. Pretax profits increased by 19.3% for the year, second only to fifth-placed Riyad Bank (whose profits grew 32.1% during the year) in percentage terms.