Saudi National Bank, the kingdom's largest lender by assets, reported a net profit of SAR 13.02 billion, equivalent to about $3.47 billion, for the first half of 2026, an increase of 7.15% on the same period a year earlier, in a disclosure filed with the Saudi Exchange.
The result was driven primarily by expansion in the group's core lending book and a broadly resilient revenue mix, the bank said. Total operating income rose 5.8% year on year to SAR 20.2 billion, underpinning a first-half performance that management described as reflecting continued momentum in Saudi corporate and retail credit demand across the kingdom's banking sector.
OPERATING INCOME UP 5.8 PERCENT
Net special commission income, the main revenue line for the group, climbed 7.4% year on year, reflecting balance-sheet growth and the still-elevated interest-rate backdrop across the Gulf. Fee income from banking services was up 2.9% year on year, a more modest gain that pointed to steady transaction and card-related activity rather than a sharp rebound in advisory or capital-markets fees over the first six months of the year.
The standout contribution to non-interest revenue came from foreign-exchange operations. Net exchange income jumped 20.8% year on year, with the bank pointing to higher client trading volumes and greater cross-border flows tied to the kingdom's expanding trade and investment agenda. That level of growth outpaced almost every other component of the top line and helped diversify the group's earnings mix in the reporting period.
Taken together, the income mix left Saudi National Bank with a diversified top line that has grown faster than the overall banking-sector average through the first six months of the year, while keeping net special commission income firmly in the driver's seat and cushioning the group against any near-term normalisation in interest rates.
BOARD APPROVES 11.5 PERCENT CASH DIVIDEND
Alongside the earnings release, the board of directors approved an 11.5% cash dividend, equivalent to SAR 1.15 per share, to be distributed to shareholders. The proposed payout underlines management's confidence in the group's earnings trajectory and capital position after the first half and marks a continuation of the bank's steady shareholder-return record since the merger that created it.
Saudi National Bank was formed through the 2021 merger of National Commercial Bank and Samba Financial Group, creating the kingdom's largest bank by assets. The lender has since positioned itself as a central financing vehicle for projects linked to the Vision 2030 economic transformation programme, ranging from giga-projects to housing and small-business credit, and remains the anchor bank for a range of sovereign-linked initiatives.
The results also come against a backdrop of continued strong loan growth across Saudi Arabia's banking system, which has been running well ahead of deposit growth for several quarters and prompted lenders to lean more heavily on wholesale funding. Saudi National Bank did not update full-year guidance in the statement but said it remained focused on disciplined balance-sheet growth and diversification of its income streams.
The bank's shares are listed on the Saudi Exchange, where it is one of the most heavily weighted constituents of the benchmark Tadawul All Share Index. It is regulated by the Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, and full second-quarter and half-year financial statements were made available to investors alongside the earnings disclosure.