Saudi National Bank profit rises 8% to $5.3bn in 2023

Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Saudi National Bank (SNB), the biggest lender by assets in the kingdom, said net profit rose eight percent year on year to SAR20.01 billion ($5.34 billion) in 2023.

Total operating income increased 4.8 percent year on year, mainly due to a 2.7 percent rise in net special commission income and a 5.1 percent growth in the fee income from banking services.

Exchange income rose by 23.1 percent, coupled with a 22 percent surge in investment income. However, the lender’s other operating expenses rose 21.9 percent, partially offsetting the earnings.

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Total assets rose 9.69 percent year on year to SAR1.04 trillion. Loans and advances increased 10.31 percent annually to SAR60.15 billion.

Customers’ deposits rose 3.8 percent year on year to SAR590 billion last year.

In May 2023, SNB said its 9.88 percent shareholding in investment bank Credit Suisse will convert to nearly 0.5 percent of UBS following the merger of the two Switzerland-based lenders.

The Saudi bank, a top shareholder in Credit Suisse, said the Swiss lender’s investment carrying value had declined 70 percent to SAR1.3 billion as of March 31, 2023.