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Dubai banks lead Middle East and Africa lenders in Q3 market cap growth

Banks in the UAE hold the largest share of the Arab banking sector’s assets

Led by Emirates NBD, most banks in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) posted increases in their market capitalisation in the third quarter, according to market intelligence data.

Dubai-based Emirates NBD’s market cap increased the most at 23.03 per cent quarter over quarter, amounting to $34.91 billion at the end of September, S&P Global said in the analysis.

Of 20 sampled banks, 16 recorded an improvement in their market cap in the three months to September 30 from the previous quarter, the S&P Global market data showed.

Mashreq, also based in Dubai, and Saudi Arabia’s Bank Albilad saw their market caps rise by 22.34 per cent and 21.23 per cent, respectively.

Banks in the UAE hold the largest share of the Arab banking sector’s assets at 24.3 per cent, according to the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF). The UAE banking sector’s asset growth reached 11 per cent, driven by a surge in credit and investments.

The UAE’s top ten banks’ capital position remained robust while their asset quality further improved in the quarter ending June 2024, according to the latest Banking Pulse report. Profitability increased to Dh21.5 billion for the second quarter on the back of higher net interest income (NII) and lower impairment charges (-35.4 per cent QoQ), the report released by Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) said

According to S&P Global data, Qatar National Bank climbed two spots to place third as its market cap grew by 15.70 per cent during the quarter. It switched places with Kuwait Finance House, which now ranked fifth. Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corp. remained the region’s biggest bank by market cap with a value of $93.05 billion, up by 9.0 per cent from three months before.

Saudi Awwal Bank had the largest market cap deterioration among the sampled banks at 9.06 per cent, down four places in the ranking to the 13th spot, while Saudi National Bank logged a 5.38 per cent decrease but held onto the second spot with a market cap of $54.40 billion.

South African banks FirstRand Ltd., Standard Bank Group Ltd and Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd. also enjoyed growths in their market value, benefitting from returning investor confidence in the rand.