The combined assets of commercial banks within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) grew by 10 percent in 2024, reaching approximately $3.5 trillion, compared with levels recorded at the end of 2023, according to data released by the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat).
Data further showed that deposits in GCC commercial banks climbed to about $2.1 trillion by the end of 2024, representing a 9.6 percent increase from the previous year. The report noted that deposits across all GCC member states recorded growth during the same period.
Similarly, the total volume of loans extended by commercial banks in the region stood at nearly $2.1 trillion by the close of 2024, reflecting a year-on-year rise of 9.9 percent.
Private sector borrowing accounted for approximately 80.7 percent of total loans in GCC countries. The proportion of non-performing loans relative to overall lending declined across most GCC states between 2020 and 2024, although country-level variations persisted.
The loan-to-deposit ratio also differed considerably across the region, ranging between 66 percent and 125 percent.
Capital adequacy ratios in GCC banks remained comfortably above Basel III requirements in 2024, standing between 17.8 percent and 32 percent, well above the regulatory minimum of 8 percent.
Net profits of commercial banks in the GCC have also shown robust growth over the past four years, surpassing levels recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic.
