The stellar performance of Saudi Arabia’s banks must appear to be a mirage to the banking sectors of many other countries in the world. Its figures are enviable on every front – from its healthy profits to its strong liquidity ratios to its negligible non-performing loans (NPL) ratios.
Last year represented the country's second best ever when it came to banking profitability, with its 12 commercial banks posting profits of SR33.5bn ($8.93bn) – only marginally lower than the record of SR34.6bn recorded in 2006. This was nearly 8.4% higher than the 2011 net earnings of SR30.9bn, although the profit growth in 2012 was much slower than in 2011, when it stood at about 18.3%.