the gcc banking sector

Forty issuers, six markets, $3.8tn in combined assets. Below is the sector decomposed — where the balance sheet mass sits, how it is funded, how well it is capitalised, and whether the liquidity buffers hold up under scrutiny.

IStructure IIFunding IIICapital IVLiquidity

structure

How $3.8 trillion in assets is distributed across six markets — and who dominates.

Total Assets by Market (USD bn)

Asset Composition by Market

Market	Banks	Total Assets	Gross Loans	Investments	Loans / Assets	Inv / Assets
UAE	10	$1.3tn	$710bn	$239bn	54.0%	18.1%
KSA	10	$1.2tn	$849bn	$272bn	68.6%	21.9%
Qatar	6	$580bn	$425bn	$99bn	73.3%	17.1%
Kuwait	8	$427bn	$262bn	$70bn	61.2%	16.4%
Bahrain	3	$118bn	$47bn	$33bn	39.6%	27.9%
Oman	3	$78bn	$57bn	$14bn	73.3%	18.6%

Top 10 Issuers by Total Assets

UAE and KSA together account for over two-thirds of GCC banking assets. The top three banks — First Abu Dhabi Bank, Qatar National Bank, and Saudi National Bank — hold combined assets of $1087bn, underscoring the concentration at the top of the system.

funding

Where the liabilities sit — deposits, wholesale, and the franchise quality beneath.

Liability Composition by Market (USD bn)

Deposit Quality & Wholesale Dependency — Market Medians

Market	Deposits	CASA (Median)	Wholesale % (Median)
UAE	$868bn	37.3%	13.8%
KSA	$786bn	42.2%	17.4%
Qatar	$378bn	18.8%	18.0%
Kuwait	$245bn	48.4%	22.1%
Bahrain	$79bn	43.0%	14.9%
Oman	$55bn	34.6%	20.2%

Deposit Franchise vs Wholesale Dependency — Each Issuer

Deposit franchise quality varies materially across markets. Banks with CASA ratios above 50% enjoy structurally lower funding costs and greater pricing resilience in a rising-rate environment, while those with elevated wholesale dependency face refinancing pressure as maturities concentrate.

capital

How well-capitalised the sector really is — and where the dispersion hides.

CET1 Ratio Distribution by Market (Median, Min–Max)

Market	Banks	CET1 Median	Min	Max	RWA Density	Organic Cap Gen	CET1 Headroom
Qatar	6	14.9%	12.2%	18.5%	69.0%	3.00%	6.8pp
KSA	10	14.8%	12.3%	17.7%	78.3%	1.33%	7.6pp
Bahrain	3	14.8%	13.7%	19.6%	48.3%	0.97%	6.7pp
Oman	3	13.8%	11.7%	14.9%	80.1%	1.06%	6.8pp
UAE	10	13.3%	12.0%	17.7%	70.5%	1.81%	5.6pp
Kuwait	8	13.3%	11.2%	15.2%	65.2%	1.06%	6.0pp

CET1 Ratio — Every Issuer, Ranked

Qatar banks carry the highest median CET1 at 14.9%, while UAE operates at 13.3%. The spread between the best- and worst-capitalised issuer across the GCC is 8.4 percentage points — a material gap that shapes both distribution capacity and growth headroom.

CET1 Ratio vs RWA Density — Each Issuer

liquidity

Structural funding resilience — who can absorb a shock, and who is running tight.

Liquidity Ratios by Market — Medians

Market	Banks	LDR	LDR Min	LDR Max	NSFR	LCR
Qatar	6	106.7%	97.0%	117.3%	104%	189%
UAE	10	80.9%	73.3%	92.7%	107%	151%
Kuwait	8	103.4%	88.5%	117.4%	112%	223%
KSA	10	101.6%	92.0%	114.7%	113%	158%
Oman	3	103.0%	84.4%	103.5%	116%	186%
Bahrain	3	67.6%	43.6%	80.3%	133%	237%

NSFR — Every Issuer with Available Data

Qatar runs the tightest loan-to-deposit ratios at a median of 106.7%, signalling deposit scarcity relative to lending appetite. Qatar has the lowest median NSFR at 104% — close enough to the 100% regulatory floor that any deposit outflow or maturity cliff could breach it. LCR coverage is broadly comfortable, but it masks concentration in government securities that may not be liquid in a correlated stress.

KSA

UAE

Kuwait

Qatar

Bahrain

Oman