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  • Saudi Arabia’s big three banks continue their rankings ascent

    Saudi National Bank, Al Rajhi Bank and Riyad Bank maintain their first, second and third positions, respectively, in the national ranking based on Tier 1 capital. However, due to healthy core capital growth, all three institutions gain one place in the Top 1000 World Banks ranking, climbing to 63rd, 77th, and 126th, respectively.

  • Saudi Arabia eyes digital banks, 24 IPOs in 2024: FSDP

    The Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) announced in its annual report for 2023 the plans of Saudi Arabia’s financial institutions for 2024, including the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and the Capital Market Authority (CMA).

  • Saudi banks post $1.95 billion in aggregate profits for May 2024, reaching 14-month high

    The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) reported that these profits are before zakat and taxes. Cumulatively, banks recorded a total profit of SAR34.78 billion ($9.27 billion) in the first five months of 2024, compared to SAR31.12 billion in the same period last year.

  • Israel turbocharges West Bank settlement expansion with largest land grab in decades

    Israel has approved the largest seizure of land in the occupied West Bank in over three decades, a settlement tracking group said Wednesday, a move that is likely to worsen already soaring tensions linked to the war in Gaza. Authorities recently approved the appropriation of 12.7 square kilometers (nearly 5 square miles) of land in the Jordan Valley, according to a copy of the order obtained by The Associated Press. Data from Peace Now, the tracking group, indicate it was the largest single appropriation approved since the 1993 Oslo accords at the start of the peace process.

  • Perspective: If war hits Lebanon, it will be especially hard for the country to pick up the pieces

    The episode reaffirmed the growing rift between a number of Lebanon’s Maronite Christian and Shiite community leaders, which has been widening in recent years. For many Maronites, Hezbollah’s hegemony over Lebanon, its determination to bring in a Maronite president of its own choosing, and its ability to provoke a conflict with Israel without bothering to consult with the Lebanese state or its sectarian counterparts, have all provoked a questioning of their country’s sectarian social contract.

  • Saudi Arabia announces $10 million in aid for Lebanon, inks agreement for 28 projects

    KSrelief and the High Relief Commission in Lebanon also inked an agreement for 28 projects across the country. The announcements came during the signing ceremony between the two commissions at the Grand Serail in Beirut. Mohammed Khair, head of the Higher Relief Committee, signed the agreement of joint cooperation with Abdulrahman Al-Quraishi, director of KSrelief in Lebanon.

  • How Richard Attias brought billionaires, bankers and politicos into Saudi Arabia’s big tent

    Indeed, since its inaugural outing FII has become a regular fixture in the calendar of the world’s power brokers and financiers. At the most recent edition, in October 2023, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon were in attendance. Following the meeting, $17.9 billion of deals were announced. Those made public included a joint venture between the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and Italian company Pirelli, as well as a large Saudi investment into a wind energy project in Azerbaijan.

  • Banks drag Saudi down, Qatar hits 3-month high

    The Saudi index closed lower on Sunday, with the financial sector leading the losses, while the Qatari index hit a three-month high having risen consistently through the month. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI), opens new tab, which recorded its first monthly gain after three months of consecutive losses, dropped 0.4%. The losses in the index were driven by Saudi Arabia's two biggest lenders, with Al Rajhi Banking And Investment Corporation (1120.SE), opens new tab declining 1.8% and Saudi National Bank (1180.SE), opens new tab dipping 1.2%.

  • Saudi Arabia ranks 3rd in remittance outflows globally in 2023: World Bank report

    Saudi Arabia ranked third globally and second in the Arab world in terms of countries sending international remittances during the year 2023. Total outward remittances amounted to nearly SR 144 billion ($38.4 billion) during the last year.  Foreign remittance is the money that immigrants send directly to their families or communities in their country of origin in the world.  According to a recent report by the World Bank titled “Migration and Development Brief,” the United States of America topped among the world countries sending international remittances, with total external remittance flows reaching about $85.8 billion during the year 2023.  The United Arab Emirates came in second place globally and first in the Arab world, with total remittances amounting to about $38.5 billion, while Kuwait ranked tenth globally and third in the Arab world.

  • Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli approval of West Bank settlement expansion

    Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the Israeli security cabinet’s approval to expand settlement operations in the West Bank. In a statement carried by the state news agency SPA, the ministry affirmed the Kingdom’s rejection of what it described as the “ongoing Israeli violations of international law and international legitimacy resolutions,” and warned of the “dire consequences” of Israel’s actions.