Assets of foreign banks in Saudi Arabia hit SAR 90 bln by 2017-end: SAMA

The asset volume of the foreign banks operating in the Kingdom reached SAR 90.1 billion by the end of fiscal year 2017, Al-Eqtisadiah Newspaper reported, citing Ahmed Alkholifey, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority’s (SAMA) Governor.

The lending portfolio of foreign banks stood at SAR 39.5 billion, while the volume of deposits amounted to SAR 46.4 billion.

Several foreign banks are currently looking to enter the Kingdom. Earlier this month, Egypt submitted a request to SAMA to obtain licenses and open two branches for Banque Misr and the National Investment Bank in Saudi Arabia.

According to data compiled by Argaam, licensed banks in Saudi Arabia include: Gulf International Bank; Emirates NBD; National Bank of Bahrain; National Bank of Kuwait; Bank Muscat; Deutsche Bank; BNP Paribas; JPMorgan Chase NA; Industrial and Commercial Bank of China; Qatar National Bank; Bank Tokyo- Mitsubishi UFG (licensed and not yet operational); and Citigroup (opened its first branch last month).