Forbes''Most Valuable' List For The Middle East Features

Seven UAE banks, with a combined market value of $128.7 billion, have made Forbes Middle East’s ’30 Most Valuable Banks’ list. The First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is ranked third, with a market value of $41.5 billion.

Gulf entities dominate this year’s ranking, with 26 out of 30 based in the GCC. The list includes banks from seven markets.

Saudi Arabia accounts for a third of the list, with ten entries and a total market value of $279.5 billion. Qatar finished third, with six submissions totaling $73.6 billion.

As of February 23, 2024, the 30 banks’ aggregate valuation was $581.1 billion, up 14% from the previous year.

Saudi Arabia’s Alrajhi Bank tops the 2024 ranking. Over the previous 12 months, its market value increased by $21.7 billion to reach $96.6 billion. As of December 2023, the bank has $215.5 billion in total assets and $4.4 billion in net profit.

The final two banks in the top three are First Abu Dhabi Bank and Saudi National Bank, with respective market values of $68.2 billion and $41.5 billion. Together, these three behemoths accumulated a market value of $206.3 billion, which makes up more than 35 percent of the total value of the 30 banks included in the list.

To create the list, Forbes Middle East collated information from Middle Eastern banks listed on Arab stock exchanges. Then, it ranked the businesses according to their market values as of February 23, 2024. Excluded were listed subsidiaries of other listed companies.