Saudi Arabia’s largest bank by assets, the Saudi National Bank (SNB), has reported a 12% rise in net profit for Q1 compared to the same period last year. According to a statement released by the company, the increase was due to higher fees and gains from investments.
SNB’s investment in Credit Suisse, which decreased by 70% in carrying value in Q1, did not affect the bank’s profitability. The net profit for Q1 was just over 5 billion riyals ($1.34B), beating the estimated 4.8 billion riyals by an analyst.
The operating income for the period rose by almost 8% to 8.7 billion riyals, driven by an increase in income from special commissions, financing, and investments, which were up almost 11% year on year.
During Q1, the Saudi National Bank (SNB) witnessed a 3% growth in its overall balance sheet, and an 8% increase in customer deposits. However, the year-on-year increase in customer deposits was only around 0.7%. In the first quarter, the bank’s total provisions for expected credit and other losses increased by nearly 28% compared to the same period last year, and by almost 200% compared to the previous quarter.
SNB did not provide any explanation for the increase. Despite a decline of 3.1 billion riyals in equity due to the fall in its investment in Credit Suisse during the first quarter, SNB stated that there would be no impact on its income statement, in line with accounting standards. The bank had invested 5.5 billion riyals to acquire a 9.88% stake in Credit Suisse last year.
