Profits of banks operating in the Kingdom—both Saudi and foreign—reached 3.76 billion riyals last July, compared to 4.31 billion riyals during the same period last year, marking a decline of 12.8 percent, equivalent to 551.3 million riyals.

According to data from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), profits grew by 52 percent during the first seven months of this year, reaching 28.84 billion riyals compared to 18.96 billion riyals for the same period last year.

The report includes pre-zakat and pre-tax profits for ten national banks, as well as branches of 14 foreign banks licensed to operate in Saudi Arabia.

Monthly bank profits since the beginning of the year were as follows: 5.15 billion riyals in January, followed by 3.11 billion riyals in February, 4.02 billion riyals in March, 4.38 billion riyals in April, and 4.75 billion riyals in May, while June saw profits of 3.67 billion riyals—the lowest in four months.

The average Saudi interbank interest rate (SAIBOR) on riyal deposits for a three-month average fell to 0.793 percent at the end of last month, compared to 0.91 percent at the end of the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the repo rate remained unchanged at 1 percent at the end of last month, while the reverse repo rate 0.5 percent.

Regarding monthly developments during the period from early 1993 through June 2021 —“342 months”—banks operating in Saudi Arabia recorded their highest-ever profits in January 2020, at approximately 5.23 billion riyals, while they posted losses in only seven months. As for the annual trend for the same period, banks operating in Saudi Arabia recorded their highest-ever profits in 2019 at approximately 50.32 billion riyals, up 4.5 percent "2.17 billion riyals" from the levels recorded in 2018, which stood at 48.15 billion riyals—the second-highest profits in the sector’s history after 2019.