Al Rajhi Bank Earns 20.87B SAR in Nine Months

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Al Rajhi Bank posted a net profit attributable to shareholders of 20.87 billion SAR for the nine months ending September 30, 2026 — up 13.3% from 18.42 billion SAR in the same period a year earlier. Rising net financing income and stronger banking service fees drove the gain. Higher credit loss provisions and operating expenses partially offset that growth.

Earnings per share reached 3.27 SAR, up from 2.90 SAR in the prior-year period. Total operating profit for the nine months climbed 13.4% to 32.53 billion SAR. Total assets stood at 1.076 trillion SAR, while shareholders’ equity grew 12.5% to 154.52 billion SAR.

Quarterly Breakdown

In the third quarter alone, Al Rajhi Bank earned 7.11 billion SAR in net profit — an 11.7% jump from 6.36 billion SAR in Q3 2025. Sequentially, net profit edged up 1.3% from 7.01 billion SAR in Q2 2026. Total operating profit for Q3 reached 11.12 billion SAR, up 12.5% year-on-year and 2.1% quarter-on-quarter. The external auditor issued an unmodified conclusion on the interim results.

Key Drivers

• Net financing income surged 18.8% to 22.43 billion SAR for the nine months, driven by higher gross financing volumes.
• Net investment income grew 3.0% to 2.90 billion SAR over the same period.
• Total operating expenses before provisions rose 11.8% to 7.21 billion SAR, pressured by higher salaries, employee benefits, and administrative costs.
• Credit loss provisions jumped 39.5% to 2.36 billion SAR for the nine months, reflecting a 20.9% rise in gross charges and reduced recovery momentum.
• The loans and financing portfolio expanded 2.5% year-on-year to 774.86 billion SAR.
• Customer deposits grew modestly, reaching 700.28 billion SAR versus 693.91 billion SAR a year ago.

What This Means for Investors

• Al Rajhi Bank’s double-digit profit growth reflects genuine top-line strength, not cost-cutting — a more durable source of earnings improvement.
• The 39.5% surge in credit loss provisions is the clearest risk to watch. It signals growing stress in the loan book and could weigh on future profits if asset quality deteriorates further.
• Shareholders’ equity expanded 12.5% year-on-year to 154.52 billion SAR, reinforcing the bank’s capital position even as the balance sheet scales past one trillion SAR in assets.
• With earnings per share at 3.27 SAR through nine months, full-year profitability is on pace to exceed 2025 — but the pace of provision growth bears close monitoring into Q4.

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THE SAUDI STANDARD’S VIEW: AL RAJHI’S TRILLION-RIYAL BALANCE SHEET AND WHAT IT SIGNALS FOR SAUDI BANKING

Al Rajhi Bank’s nine-month results confirm that Saudi Arabia’s largest Islamic bank by assets is not simply growing — it is deepening its structural dominance of the Kingdom’s financial system. With total assets now exceeding one trillion SAR and shareholders’ equity expanding at double-digit pace, the bank represents a bellwether for the health and direction of Saudi Arabia’s broader financial sector.

• TOP-LINE GROWTH VALIDATES FINANCING DEMAND

An 18.8% surge in net financing income signals that credit demand across Saudi Arabia remains robust, driven by ongoing infrastructure investment, corporate expansion, and household borrowing. This is not margin engineering — it reflects genuine volume growth in the Kingdom’s real economy. For investors, revenue built on expanding financing portfolios is structurally more defensible than gains derived from cost reduction alone.

• PROVISION SURGE DEMANDS INVESTOR DISCIPLINE

The 39.5% year-on-year increase in credit loss provisions is the single most important variable for investors to track heading into the final quarter. Elevated provisioning at this scale, driven by higher gross charges and reduced recoveries, suggests the loan book is absorbing stress even as headline profits remain strong. Should this trajectory continue, earnings momentum could face a more meaningful headwind in 2027 than current profit figures imply.

• CAPITAL STRENGTH PROVIDES STRATEGIC BUFFER

Shareholders’ equity of 154.52 billion SAR, growing at 12.5% year-on-year, gives Al Rajhi Bank substantial capacity to absorb credit cycle volatility without compromising its growth agenda. A well-capitalized balance sheet at this scale also positions the bank to pursue dividend consistency — a key consideration for institutional investors allocating to Saudi financial stocks. The balance between equity growth and asset expansion reflects disciplined capital stewardship.

• DEPOSIT BASE STABILITY MERITS ATTENTION

Customer deposits reaching 700.28 billion SAR represent a modest but steady funding base that underpins the bank’s capacity to sustain financing growth without excessive reliance on wholesale markets. The relatively contained pace of deposit growth, compared to the faster expansion of the financing portfolio, is a ratio worth monitoring as the bank scales. A widening gap between financing assets and deposit funding could eventually create liquidity pricing pressure.

Al Rajhi Bank’s performance through the first nine months of 2026 is consistent with the ambitions embedded in Vision 2030 — a financially sophisticated, domestically anchored banking sector capable of intermediating the capital flows required by a diversifying economy. As Saudi Arabia accelerates investment across non-oil sectors, the Kingdom’s leading banks will be called upon to bear greater credit risk in service of that transformation. Al Rajhi’s results illustrate both the reward of that role and the discipline required to manage it responsibly over the long term.