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Saudi Arabia’s commercial banking sector continued to demonstrate strong growth, with aggregate assets rising by 7.4% in April 2025 compared to a year earlier.
Total assets of lenders stood at SAR 5.3 trillion ($ 1.4 trillion) during the month, marking a robust increase from SAR 4.9 trillion in the same period in 2024, according to the latest figures from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).
Rising claims on the private sector and the government were the main drivers for the growth, highlighting the banking sector’s expanding role in supporting economic activity.
Over the past several years, the banking sector’s assets expanded consistently, rising from SAR 4.03 trillion in 2020 to SAR 5.17 trillion at the end of 2024, recording a growth exceeding 28%.
Claims on the private sector totalled around SAR 3 trillion during the first three months of the year, making it the largest contributor to asset growth.
Claims on the government also grew substantially, reaching SAR 612 billion in the same period.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
