NBB and BBK among Forbes top 50 ‘Most Valuable Banks’ in Middle East

TDT | Manama                                                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com     

The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) and the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) are among the Forbes Middle East’s top 50 Most Valuable Banks in the Middle East in 2023, coming in at the 31st and 38th places, respectively.

Forbes Middle East has revealed its ranking of the region’s top 50 most valuable banks, recognising the Middle East’s biggest banking titans.

To construct the list, Forbes Middle East gathered data from listed stock exchanges in the Arab world and ranked companies based on their reported market value as of February 28, 2023.

The 50 banks have an aggregate market value of $548.1 billion.

With a market cap of $75 billion, Saudi’s Al Rajhi Bank is the largest bank in the region.

Saudi National Bank and Qatar’s QNB Group round up the top three, with $56.4 billion and $42.8 billion in market cap, respectively.

Collectively, these three companies have a valuation of $174.2 billion, accounting for nearly 32% of the total list.

The ranking features entities from 10 markets, although GCC banks dominate with 41 entries, representing 82% of the list. Overall, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are home to the most banks on the list, with 10 entries each, constituting 40% of the ranking. Saudi Arabia’s 10 most valuable banks have an aggregate market value of $223.5 billion.

The UAE’s 10 entries are worth $121.2 billion, Qatar’s eight banks have a market value of $81.3 billion, and Kuwait’s seven entries are worth $76.2 billion.