GCC banks post record $16.6bn profit in Q3 on lending, revenue growth

Gulf Cooperation Council banks posted a record $16.6 billion in net profit in the third quarter of 2025, an 11.6 percent increase from the same period a year earlier, according to an analysis., an analysis showed. Net profit at listed GCC banks also rose 2.2 percent from the previous quarter, marking the third consecutive quarterly increase, driven by broad-based revenue growth and improved cost efficiency, according to Kuwait-based Kamco Invest. The performance aligns with a projection made by accounting firm Ernst & Young in March, which said the GCC banking sector was poised for robust growth in 2025, supported by ongoing economic diversification and favorable global financial conditions. In its latest report, Kamco stated: “The sequential increase (of net profit) was once again mainly led by a broad-based increase in revenues for the sector and lower cost-to-income ratio that more than offset an increase in impairments during the quarter.” It added: “Loan impairments once again witnessed a double-digit increase, reaching a three-quarter high level of $2.6 billion during the third quarter of 2025 vs $2.4 billion during the second quarter of this year.” Aggregate banking sector revenues reached a new record high of $36.8 billion during the quarter, registering a three-quarter high sequential growth of 3.3 percent, according to Kamco Invest. Qatari banks recorded the strongest sequential revenue growth at 5.9 percent in the third quarter, compared to the previous three months. Bahrain-listed banks followed with revenue growth of 5 percent, while UAE-listed banks posted an expansion of 3.4 percent. Kuwaiti and Saudi-listed banks were next, with revenue growth of 3.3 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Lending activity among listed GCC banks rose by 3.7 percent in the third quarter, one of the strongest increases in more than four years, bringing net loans to $2.31 trillion by the end of September. “The growth (in lending) reflected resilient non-oil sector growth in the region with non-oil manufacturing consistently well above the growth mark for key economies in the region,” said Kamco Invest. Gross loans increased by 3.6 percent during the quarter to $2.41 trillion. The aggregate net loan-to-deposit ratio for the GCC banking sector remained elevated above 80 percent at the end of the third quarter, reaching a record high of 82.8 percent.