RIYADH – The total market value of Saudi banks has approached the SR1trillion mark for the first time in history, according to a monitoring carried out by Okaz/Saudi Gazette. The combined market value of the 10 local banks at the end of trading on Sunday was about SR968.88 billion, which is only SR31.12 billion less than SR1 trillion. Al-Rajhi Bank emerged top on the index with the highest market value of about SR335.5 billion, equivalent to 34.63 percent of the total value of the banking sector in the Kingdom. The National Commercial Bank (Al-Ahli Bank) came second, with a value of about SR288.38 billion, or 29.76 percent of the total value of the Saudi banking sector. Al-Ahli had this gain especially after its merger with Samba Group. Riyad Bank came third with about SR82.2 billion (8.48 percent), followed by SABB, which recently merged with "Alawwal" Bank, with a market value amounting to SR68.22 billion (7.04 percent). The shares of Al-Ahli and Alinma made history by recording their highest price during Sunday's trading. The unit price of Al-Ahli shares was SR64.7, while that of Alinma touched SR24.86. The monitoring report also revealed that deposits in the Saudi banks maintained their levels for the fourth consecutive month. The total deposits amounted to about SR2.03 trillion, of which SR1.31 trillion is registered as demand deposits.
