Coverage: weekly note · Information to 6 May 2025
TGB Premium Intelligence — Open Access
This report was originally available exclusively to TGB Premium subscribers. It is now part of our open research archive.
TGB Weekly Research Note · 6 May 2025
Results from eight large lenders in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait show higher 2024 profits, set by loan growth, margins and, in the UAE, the new corporate tax.
The desk view
Eight large GCC banks all reported higher profits for 2024, at very different speeds. Al Rajhi Bank's net income rose 18.7%, helped by a wider margin and 16.7% financing growth. Emirates NBD's pre-tax profit rose 15%, but a 94% higher tax charge left profit after tax up 7%. Rate cuts came late in 2024, and the UAE central bank said profitability had started to plateau. The banks report in four currencies on different profit definitions, so we compare each bank's own filing rather than a regional aggregate.
Profits rose everywhere, at different speeds
Al Rajhi Bank's net income after zakat was SAR 19,722 million, up 18.7%. Riyad Bank's rose 16.0% to SAR 9,322 million, while Saudi National Bank (SNB) earned SAR 21.2 billion, up 6%. Emirates NBD earned AED 23.0 billion after tax, up 7%, and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) AED 17.1 billion, with pre-tax profit up 13%. Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) and Kuwait Finance House (KFH) grew profit by 7%, 7.0% and 3.0%.
Eight large GCC banks, 2024 results
| Bank | Market | 2024 net profit | Change on 2023 | Loan growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNB | Saudi Arabia | SAR 21.2bn | +6% | +9% |
| Al Rajhi Bank | Saudi Arabia | SAR 19.7bn | +18.7% | +16.7% |
| Riyad Bank | Saudi Arabia | SAR 9.3bn | +16.0% | +16.7% |
| Emirates NBD | UAE | AED 23.0bn | +7% | +10% |
| FAB | UAE | AED 17.1bn | Pre-tax +13% | n/a |
| QIB | Qatar | QAR 4,605m | +7% | +2.4% |
| NBK | Kuwait | KD 600.1m | +7.0% | +6.4% |
| KFH | Kuwait | KD 601.8m | +3.0% | n/a |
Source: Saudi National Bank, SNB 4Q 2024 Earnings Release, 29 January 2025; Al Rajhi Bank, 4Q 2024 Earnings Release, 29 January 2025; Riyad Bank, FY 2024 Preliminary Earnings Release, 3 February 2025; Emirates NBD, FY 2024 results press release, 29 January 2025; First Abu Dhabi Bank, 2024 results and AGM release, 11 March 2025; Qatar Islamic Bank, 2024 results release, 15 January 2025; National Bank of Kuwait, FY2024 results release, 2 February 2025; Kuwait Finance House, 2024 results release, 27 January 2025.
Tax and margins split pre-tax from post-tax growth
The UAE corporate tax applies at 9% to financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023. At Emirates NBD, profit before tax rose 15% to AED 27.1 billion, while the tax charge rose 94% to AED 4.1 billion. Profit after tax therefore grew 8 percentage points more slowly than pre-tax profit.
Margins diverged: Emirates NBD's net interest margin fell 31 bps to 3.64% and SNB's 13 basis points to 3.02%, while Al Rajhi Bank's widened 14 basis points to 3.13%. Easing came late in the year: the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) cut its Base Rate by 50 bps in the fourth quarter to 4.40%, and the Saudi Central Bank cut its repo rate to 5.00% on 18 December 2024. The CBUAE said profitability indicators "remained strong but started to plateau in view of the inflection of monetary policy rates".
Volume and credit quality did the heavy lifting
UAE banking system credit grew 9.5% and deposits 12.9% in the year to the fourth quarter of 2024, while the system NPL ratio improved to 4.6% from 5.9%. Emirates NBD's cost of risk fell to zero on strong recoveries, from 71 bps in 2023.
Lending grew fastest at Al Rajhi Bank and Riyad Bank, whose net financing and net loans both rose 16.7%; SNB's financing grew 9%. Al Rajhi Bank's corporate financing grew 31.8%, while its cost of risk rose 7 basis points to 0.32%. Growth was slower in Qatar and Kuwait: QIB's financing grew 2.4% and NBK's loans 6.4%. At KFH, net financing income rose 18.7% but profit only 3.0%, so most of the gain was absorbed below the financing line.
What to watch
- 6–7 May 2025: next FOMC meeting; the CBUAE cut its Base Rate in line with the Fed's easing cycle in 2024.
Primary sources: Emirates NBD, FY 2024 results press release, 29 January 2025; Al Rajhi Bank, 4Q 2024 Earnings Release, 29 January 2025; UAE Ministry of Finance, Corporate tax announcement, 26 August 2022; Riyad Bank, FY 2024 Preliminary Earnings Release, 3 February 2025; First Abu Dhabi Bank, 2024 results and AGM release, 11 March 2025; Qatar Islamic Bank, 2024 results release, 15 January 2025; National Bank of Kuwait, FY2024 results release, 2 February 2025; Kuwait Finance House, 2024 results release, 27 January 2025; Saudi National Bank, SNB 4Q 2024 Earnings Release, 29 January 2025; Central Bank of the UAE, Quarterly Economic Review, March 2025, 31 March 2025; Saudi Central Bank, Repo rate decision, 18 December 2024; Federal Reserve Board, FOMC minutes, March 2025, 9 April 2025.