Saudi banks’ assets have risen in the third quarter of this year to $14 billion, the Saudi Central Bank said.
The Central Bank stated that the combined assets of the ten banks listed on the Saudi stock market (Tadawul) rose to the level of 2.9 trillion riyals, compared to 2.8 trillion riyals at the end of the second quarter of this year.
The assets of listed Saudi banks increased by 1.84% at the end of the third quarter of 2021 from the previous quarter, with an increase of 53.92 billion riyals ($ 14.37 billion), compared to total assets at the end of the second quarter of this year, which recorded about 2.892 trillion riyals.
Saudi banks’ assets
On an annual basis, the assets of the 10 banks increased by nearly 550 billion riyals ($146.62 billion). The total assets at the end of the third quarter of 2020 amounted to about 2.4 trillion riyals ($0.64 billion), with a growth rate of 22% during the comparison period.
On the level of bank profits, it rose by 24.3% during the third quarter of 2021 on an annual basis, to 13.25 billion riyals ($3.35 billion), compared to profits of 10.66 billion riyals ($2.43 billion) in the third quarter of 2020.
The Saudi banking sector includes 10 local banks listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange, and branches of 15 foreign banks.
The profits of Saudi banks listed on the local stock exchange fell during the past year, which witnessed the Coronavirus pandemic, by 23.9% to 34.6 billion riyals ($9.23 billion).
Profits were affected by the spread of the virus globally, the curfew in the country, which stopped most economic activities the demand for financing, in addition to the government’s postponement of the payment of corporate and individual loan installments.
In a related context, the inflation rate in Saudi Arabia rose during the month of October by 0.2%, supported by food and beverage prices.
Data from the General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia said that the inflation rate continues to rise for the 22nd consecutive month, reaching 0.8% on an annual basis.
During 2019, inflation witnessed a deflation, and then began to rise since then.
The data also showed an increase in inflation by 0.2% on a monthly basis, and the increase in inflation came last month, driven by the increase in food and beverage prices, the second most influential section in the index, by 1.4% on an annual basis, and transportation by 6.4%.
