The Top 100 Arab banks: the Arab banking boom still booming: the financial services industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region led by top-tier banks is experiencing significant growth, in terms of banking assets, profitability and innovations. Researched, written and table compiled by economic analyst.

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The Top 100 Arab banks: the Arab banking boom still booming: the financial services industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region led by top-tier banks is experiencing significant growth, in terms of banking assets, profitability and innovations. Researched, written and table compiled by economic analyst.

SPIRALLING OIL PRICES--extending above $145 a barrel in the summer--have enriched the prospects of many regional banks as well as profits for calendar 2008, despite an unabated global credit crunch and mountainous bad debts hitting the balance sheets of western banking giants (notably UBS and Citigroup). One observer put it: "Credit crunch? What credit crunch?" Omar Bouhadiba, executive vice-president of Mashreqbank (the UAE's No.1 private sector bank), agreed by saying: "Times are good for everyone in this part of the world."

Vigorous economic activity and lack of exposure to the US sub-prime mortgage debacle are two reasons why leading well-managed regional banks are performing strongly amid a bearish financial climate in the US and Europe. Commenting on financial ritedowns on structured credit instruments (see Banking Glossary), Moody's Investors Service wrote: "Fortunately we do not expect to see much spill-over into other asset classes and very few banks in the region are exposed." Standard & Poor's (S&P) echoed this assessment: "Exposure is limited with a few exceptions, with higher provisioning expected mainly in Bahrain but also some in the UAE and Saudi Arabia."

This year could be the best ever for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economy, the bedrock of Arab banking. Omar Bin Sulaiman, governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre, boasted: "We have only seen the tip of the iceberg for growth in the region. There will be a bigger boom in the next five-to-10 years, as people keep coming to Dubai from around the world. During the current cycle of rising oil prices, a larger portion of the oil wealth is being invested in the region and it is being supplemented by growing foreign direct investment." Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged 7.1% in the six-member GCC nations (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) over 2003-07; during the same period, GCC governments added $500bn to their net official external asset...

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