The Banker's Top 100 Arab Banks ranking for 2013 highlights the continued robustness and health of the Middle Eastern banking industry. Aggregate Tier 1 capital grew by 8.86% from $190.8bn at the end of 2011 to $207.7bn at the end of 2012, raising the minimum Tier 1 capital for inclusion in the top 100 substantially from $244.25m to $315m.
Even more impressive is the fact that this jump in Tier 1 capital is purely a reflection of the growth taking place across Arab banks, unlike many of the increases in Western banks which tend to be the result of an urgent need for recapitalisation.