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Leading Mena banks give little ground in 2023

30 May 2023

 

The past year has seen significant upheavals in the ranking of the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region’s largest listed banks due to a combination of market conditions, mergers, acquisitions and new listings, according to the 2023 MEED Top 100 companies list.

Weakening international investor sentiment amid higher interest rates, and concerns over the collapse of several US and Swiss banks, has perhaps been the most prominent factor in their performance.

In a trend largely independent of actual performance, which regional banks have generally improved in the 2022-23 fiscal year – both in terms of gross revenue and the bottom line – many banks have found their market values reduced, with banks in the MEED Top 100 companies list shedding more than $85bn in value.

Regional ranking

Despite this, Al-Rajhi Bank and Saudi National Bank, although temporarily diminished in overall market capitalisation, remain the top two banks in the region by value, as they were in 2022. 

In third place now is QNB, having just edged ahead of First Abu Dhabi Bank in value terms. Fifth place is occupied by Kuwait Finance House, which has risen significantly in value over the past year through its full acquisition of Ahli United Bank in a share swap transaction, displacing Riyad Bank.

National Bank of Kuwait, Emirates NBD, Saudi Awwal Bank (formerly Saudi British Bank) and Alinma Bank remain in the same relative positions as last year.

Outside of the top 10 regional banks, two improvers have been Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Mashreq Bank, both of which have seen their market capitalisation rise by about $2.5bn. In the case of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, its performance rose after reporting a 55 per cent rise in profits in 2022 and a further 43 per cent rise in profits in the first quarter of 2023.

Mashreq Bank meanwhile announced a 270 per cent leap in its 2022 profits to $1bn, and a further 163 per cent surge in profits in the first quarter of 2023. Both banks have overtaken numerous peers in terms of equity market value.

Qatar’s Dukhan bank joined the MEED Top 100 for the first time as a newly listed bank, having joined the Qatar Stock Exchange with a direct listing in February 2023. 

Several major regional banks fell short of the list, the bar for which rose significantly in 2023 to a market capitalisation of $3.7bn.

Middle East equities hold largely steady

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John Bambridge

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