Strength in adversity: the Middle East presents its annual listing of the region's top 100 banks.
The Middle East › Nbr. 2009, January 2009
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BUSINESS: TOP 100 MIDDLE EAST BANKS - Cover story - List
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Strength in adversity: the Middle East presents its annual listing of the region's top 100 banks.
Our 2009 survey of the Top 100 Middle Eastern Banks has a familiar ring to it. Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank continues to occupy the top spot but otherwise competition in the Saudi market is proving increasingly intense.
Elsewhere, growth may have slowed but the region is showing few signs of the international financial doom and gloom, with many banks registering double-digit growth. But if there is one lesson that stands out from our past few surveys, it is that banking liberalisation pays dividends in terms of creating globally competitive financial institutions. There is little sign of the ongoing global economic slump having any substantial impact on the biggest banks in the Middle East and North Africa. This may be because most of the financial results cover the 12 months up until the end of December 2008, but could also be because the region has partly been sheltered from the economic storm, with the rise of Islamic banking and continued strong oil revenues continuing to feed regional growth. The strength of the Middle East banking sector is emphasised by the fact that capital of $277m was needed to secure a place in our Top 100 in last year's survey, but that figure has now risen to the $330m recorded by Credit Immobilier et Hotelier of Morocco. At the top of our table, National Commercial Bank's lead over its nearest rival has been massively cut over the past year, with its capital falling from $8.068bn in 2008 to $7.343bn in this year's survey. Yet even Al Rajhi's performance is eclipsed by that of Riyad Bank, which has seen its capital grow from $3.516...See the full content of this document
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