Top 1000 World Banks - Qatari giant QNB holds onto top spot

Qatar National Bank (QNB) remains top of the pile in the Middle East in The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks ranking for 2020. But a fresh wave of consolidation among banks in the region has prompted the arrival of two new lenders in the regional top 10, with similar deals set to continue to disrupt the regional landscape in the years to come.

The Qatari giant held on to the top spot in 2020, a year after regaining the position from the UAE’s First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB). QNB’s Tier 1 capital rose an impressive 10.4% to $24.9bn in 2019, pushing it up to 72nd position in the overall rankings from 75th position in 2019’s ranking. FAB’s 6.5% rise in its capital position pushed it up one position to 85th position in the Top 1000 ranking but it was not enough to challenge QNB’s lead.

Emirates NBD was the best performer in the regional top five this year, leapfrogging Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB) into third place with an impressive 34.1% growth in Tier 1 capital.

But it was another UAE-based lender, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) that won the accolade of the fastest growing bank in the region for 2020 – and the 20th highest overall worldwide – thanks to its acquisition of local rivals Union National Bank and Al Hilal Bank. The merger, completed in May 2019, saw ADCB’s overall capital position improve by 53.6% to $13.6bn, moving the bank up to sixth position in the region, from 12th in 2019.

Saudi British Bank’s (SABB’s) merger with fellow Saudi lender Alawwal Bank in 2019 saw it enter the region’s top 10 in ninth position, its Tier 1 capital position improving 24.8% to $11.1bn. Further mergers currently underway in the sector – including Dubai Islamic Bank’s acquisition of local rival Noor Bank and Kuwait Finance House’s long-awaited takeover of Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank – are set to create more regional powerhouses in the years to come.