Company Insights Riyad Bank Banking & Finance Riyad Bank Overview Riyad Bank, established in 1957, is one of the largest financial institutions in Saudi Arabia, ranked fourth in assets. It has more than 300 branches in the kingdom, and a presence in London, Singapore and the US. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is a major shareholder. Riyad Bank provides sharia-compliant services to both individual and corporate customers, and arranges financing for oil and petrochemical projects as well as for Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure projects. Its fully owned subsidiary Riyad Capital provides guidance on the process of initial public offerings. Riyad Bank runs various projects to support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals. “We Finance, You Manufacture” for example is a joint effort initiative with the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program to encourage local manufacturing and support Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy. The Tourism Partners Program, meanwhile, supports private projects to boost Saudi Arabia’s tourism goals. Riyad Bank News Banking & Finance Lending income underpins record Q1 for Saudi banks Three of Saudi Arabia’s five biggest banks by assets have reported record first-quarter profits after generating more income from loans and on lower operating costs. Saudi National Bank, the kingdom’s largest lender, reported a 19 percent jump in profit in the three months to March 31 to SAR6 billion ($1.6 billion), compared with the same […] April 22, 2025 Employment GCC hiring gains pace as non-oil sector expands Employment levels picked up in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar as the non-oil private sector expanded in March, according to the latest monthly business sentiment surveys by S&P Global. Saudi Arabia recorded its best quarter for job creation in more than 12 years as hiring activity was driven by a demand upturn and output expansion. […] April 7, 2025 Employment Saudi jobs market buoyant as Egypt and Kuwait struggle Staffing levels in Saudi Arabia surged in February as companies prepare for growth opportunities ahead. But it was a different story in neighbouring Kuwait and Egypt where jobs were lost in the face of a slowdown in new orders, according to the latest business sentiment surveys. Employment numbers in Saudi Arabia increased at the quickest […] March 4, 2025 Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia’s biggest bank wants wealthy depositors back Saudi Arabia’s largest bank by assets is trying to woo back wealthy customers after losing many since a merger in 2021. SNB, or Saudi National Bank, is a merger of National Commercial Bank and Samba Financial Group, formerly known as the Saudi American Bank. It has underperformed against its major domestic rivals, reporting comparatively lower […] February 14, 2025 Editor's Insight Economy Navigating volatility: The impact on GCC economies The optimism is welcome – but it may be misplaced. This week the Riyad Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index in Saudi Arabia hit its highest level in more than 10 years – a significant vote of confidence in the Arab world’s largest economy. There was positive news too on jobs in the kingdom. Employment rose “solidly” last year, […] February 7, 2025 Markets Derayah raises $400m ‘in minutes’ on day 1 of IPO book-building The book-building phase of Derayah Financial’s initial public offering attracted massive demand on its first day, with institutional investors quickly covering subscriptions. The Saudi online brokerage offered 49.9 million shares on Sunday to investment funds, qualified foreign companies and institutions, as well as Gulf and foreign investors, as part of an IPO book-building that is […] February 3, 2025 Finance Saudi Arabia’s Riyad Capital explores $2.5bn IPO The proposed listing of Riyad Capital, the investment banking arm of Riyad Bank, would value the business at $2.5 billion, Bloomberg has reported. Riyad Capital is working with JP Morgan Chase & Co on the plan to list on the Saudi stock exchange, which is expected in mid-2025. Founded in 2008, Riyad Capital offers a […] January 14, 2025 Economy Tech companies fuel spike in Saudi business registrations Commercial business registrations in Saudi Arabia increased by more than two-thirds in the fourth quarter of 2024, led by a proliferation of technology-based companies setting up in the kingdom. Over 160,000 new records were issued throughout the three-month period, taking the number of active commercial registrations in the country to more than 1.6 million, according […] January 9, 2025 Economy Non-oil activity hits 9-month high in UAE Non-oil activity hit a nine-month high in the UAE in December. The country logged a 55.4 rating for the month in S&P’s global purchasing managers’ index (PMI) in the non-oil economy, up from 54.2 in November. Survey respondents said new business in the UAE had expanded at the fastest rate for nine months. However, they […] January 6, 2025 Economy Non-oil economy drives growth as Saudi GDP rises 2.8% Saudi Arabia has reported a 2.8 percent increase in real GDP for the third quarter of 2024, with non-oil activities driving the year-on-year growth. Seasonally adjusted real GDP was up 0.9 percent on the second quarter, according to Riyadh’s General Authority for Statistics. Non-oil GDP was 4.3 percent higher year on year and 0.7 percent […] December 9, 2024 Posts navigation 1 2 … 7 Next
Banking & Finance Lending income underpins record Q1 for Saudi banks Three of Saudi Arabia’s five biggest banks by assets have reported record first-quarter profits after generating more income from loans and on lower operating costs. Saudi National Bank, the kingdom’s largest lender, reported a 19 percent jump in profit in the three months to March 31 to SAR6 billion ($1.6 billion), compared with the same […] April 22, 2025
Employment GCC hiring gains pace as non-oil sector expands Employment levels picked up in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar as the non-oil private sector expanded in March, according to the latest monthly business sentiment surveys by S&P Global. Saudi Arabia recorded its best quarter for job creation in more than 12 years as hiring activity was driven by a demand upturn and output expansion. […] April 7, 2025
Employment Saudi jobs market buoyant as Egypt and Kuwait struggle Staffing levels in Saudi Arabia surged in February as companies prepare for growth opportunities ahead. But it was a different story in neighbouring Kuwait and Egypt where jobs were lost in the face of a slowdown in new orders, according to the latest business sentiment surveys. Employment numbers in Saudi Arabia increased at the quickest […] March 4, 2025
Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia’s biggest bank wants wealthy depositors back Saudi Arabia’s largest bank by assets is trying to woo back wealthy customers after losing many since a merger in 2021. SNB, or Saudi National Bank, is a merger of National Commercial Bank and Samba Financial Group, formerly known as the Saudi American Bank. It has underperformed against its major domestic rivals, reporting comparatively lower […] February 14, 2025
Editor's Insight Economy Navigating volatility: The impact on GCC economies The optimism is welcome – but it may be misplaced. This week the Riyad Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index in Saudi Arabia hit its highest level in more than 10 years – a significant vote of confidence in the Arab world’s largest economy. There was positive news too on jobs in the kingdom. Employment rose “solidly” last year, […] February 7, 2025
Markets Derayah raises $400m ‘in minutes’ on day 1 of IPO book-building The book-building phase of Derayah Financial’s initial public offering attracted massive demand on its first day, with institutional investors quickly covering subscriptions. The Saudi online brokerage offered 49.9 million shares on Sunday to investment funds, qualified foreign companies and institutions, as well as Gulf and foreign investors, as part of an IPO book-building that is […] February 3, 2025
Finance Saudi Arabia’s Riyad Capital explores $2.5bn IPO The proposed listing of Riyad Capital, the investment banking arm of Riyad Bank, would value the business at $2.5 billion, Bloomberg has reported. Riyad Capital is working with JP Morgan Chase & Co on the plan to list on the Saudi stock exchange, which is expected in mid-2025. Founded in 2008, Riyad Capital offers a […] January 14, 2025
Economy Tech companies fuel spike in Saudi business registrations Commercial business registrations in Saudi Arabia increased by more than two-thirds in the fourth quarter of 2024, led by a proliferation of technology-based companies setting up in the kingdom. Over 160,000 new records were issued throughout the three-month period, taking the number of active commercial registrations in the country to more than 1.6 million, according […] January 9, 2025
Economy Non-oil activity hits 9-month high in UAE Non-oil activity hit a nine-month high in the UAE in December. The country logged a 55.4 rating for the month in S&P’s global purchasing managers’ index (PMI) in the non-oil economy, up from 54.2 in November. Survey respondents said new business in the UAE had expanded at the fastest rate for nine months. However, they […] January 6, 2025
Economy Non-oil economy drives growth as Saudi GDP rises 2.8% Saudi Arabia has reported a 2.8 percent increase in real GDP for the third quarter of 2024, with non-oil activities driving the year-on-year growth. Seasonally adjusted real GDP was up 0.9 percent on the second quarter, according to Riyadh’s General Authority for Statistics. Non-oil GDP was 4.3 percent higher year on year and 0.7 percent […] December 9, 2024
