Saudi Arabia’s largest bank by assets, Saudi National Bank (SNB) recorded a 0.4% increase in first-quarter profit compared to the same period in 2023, as a result of higher impairment expenses.
The bank reported a Q1 2024 net profit of SAR 5.04 billion ($1.3 billion), flat year-on-year (YoY) but beating analysts’ estimate of SAR 4.97 billion, according to LSEG data.
Impairment charges for expected credit losses surged 33% to SAR 655 billion, according to the bank’s filing with the Saudi Stock Exchange. The lender posted a 10.4% increase in loans and advances to SAR 625.2 billion, while customer deposits rose 7.4% to SAR 656.3 billion.
Total assets rose 9.8$ YoY to SAR 1.07 trillion riyals, marking a 3.4% quarterly increase, driven by growth in financing and investments. Special commission income rose 22% due to an increase in financing and investments portfolios and an increase in benchmark rate.
In 2023, SNB reported a net profit of SARÂ 20Â billion ($5.3 billion), a 7.7% increase from the SARÂ 18.6 billion ($4.6 billion) it reported in 2022.
