Saudi National Bank (SNB) reported on Monday around a 20% increase in third-quarter net profit on a double-digit rise in operating income, while operating expenses declined.
The kingdom's biggest lender by assets reported a net profit attributable to equity holders of 6.47 billion riyals ($1.73 billion) in the quarter ended on September 30, it said in a statement.
The result came ahead of analysts' expectations of 5.45 billion riyals, according to mean estimates compiled by LSEG.
Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude exporter, is in the midst of a vast transformation plan to diversify its economy away from oil revenues.
Demand for credit to support the ambitious programme, which envisions billions of investment in sectors such as tourism and manufacturing, has been reflected in Saudi banks' balance sheets, including SNB.
The lender's total assets grew by 7.3% to 1.21 trillion riyals in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2024, propelled by growth in both financing and investment portfolios.
SNB's loans and advances rose 10.6% to 725.1 billion riyals as of the end of September, while deposits grew 0.8% to 639.5 billion riyals.
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