Here's a review of bank branches in Saudi Arabia in 2021

The bank branches operating in Saudi Arabia reached 1,945 at the end of 2021, compared with 2,014 a year earlier.

Accordingly, last year’s number of branches is the lowest since 2014 when it reached 1,909.

A total of 16 new branches opened in 2021, while 85 closed, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).

Riyad Bank and Al Rajhi Bank shut 37 and 23 branches, respectively, by the end of 2021.

Meanwhile, Saudi British Bank (SABB) closed eight branches.

Other banks opened new branches during the same year, as shown in the following table:

As many as 10 Tadawul-listed banks operate in the Kingdom, in addition to 16 foreign banks, including Emirates NBD (seven branches), Gulf International Bank (GIB) (three), National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) (three) and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) (three).

The foreign banks with branches operating in the Kingdom include BNP Paribas of France, Deutsche Bank of Germany, Bank Muscat, National Bank of Bahrain (NBB), JPMorgan Chase & Co. of the United States, National Bank of Pakistan, Ziraat Bank Turkey, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Qatar National Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered.

The branches of Saudi banks decreased to 1,917 by the end of 2021, topped by Al Rajhi Bank with 521 branches, followed by SNB (506), Riyad Bank (273), and ANB (131).

Riyadh had the highest number of bank branches, with 588. Makkah followed with 406 branches, and the Eastern Province with 371 branches.

In addition, average assets per branch rose to SAR 1.685 billion in 2021 from SAR 1.479 billion in 2020.

Average loans increased to SAR 1.046 billion per branch, with average deposits rising to SAR 1.082 million per branch.