Saudi Arabia’s banking sector continued to expand in June, with total bank credit rising 7.3% year over year to SR3.42 trillion ($912 billion), while total bank deposits increased 8.9% to SR3.13 trillion, according to official data.
Data from the Saudi Central Bank showed that broad money supply also rose 8.4% from the same period last year to SR3.38 trillion. The increase reflects continued growth in banking liquidity and lending activity.
The figures, comparing June 2026 with June 2025, showed that lending to both the private and public sectors increased during the period.
The latest data highlights the strength of Saudi Arabia’s financial sector, with banking activity and reserve assets reflecting strong liquidity, financial stability and confidence in the country’s economy.
Bank credit by maturity reached SR3.419 trillion at the end of June, up from SR3.186 trillion a year earlier. The increase was mainly driven by growth in long-term and short-term lending. Long-term credit rose to SR1.64 trillion from SR1.56 trillion, while short-term credit increased to SR1.31 trillion from SR1.14 trillion. Medium-term credit, however, declined slightly to SR475 billion from SR490 billion.
Economist Ahmad Chreim of MT Trading said the June data from the Saudi Central Bank showed that the banking sector continued to expand despite a challenging global interest rate environment.
He said strong credit growth, along with a 25% increase in time and savings deposits, showed that customers were choosing to lock in higher returns while global interest rates remained elevated.
Chreim added that a 16% rise in foreign securities holdings showed that the Saudi Central Bank was actively managing its reserve portfolio to generate higher returns and strengthen external financial buffers while the Kingdom continues funding Vision 2030 projects.
Bank lending to the private sector increased 6.8% to SR3.27 trillion in June from SR3.06 trillion a year earlier. Lending to the public sector also rose 7.8% to SR930.1 billion from SR863.2 billion.
The increase in credit came with changes in deposit patterns. Time and savings deposits jumped 25% year over year to SR1.375 trillion in June, compared with SR1.1 trillion a year earlier. Meanwhile, demand deposits declined 3.2% to SR1.447 trillion from SR1.495 trillion.
Separate Saudi Central Bank data showed that the Kingdom’s reserve assets increased 8.1% year over year to SR1.85 trillion in June, compared with SR1.72 trillion in the same month last year.
The increase of about SR138.3 billion was mainly driven by a rise in foreign securities holdings, which climbed 16% to SR1.11 trillion from SR959.4 billion in June 2025.
Foreign currency and deposits abroad, the second-largest component of Saudi Arabia’s reserves, stood at SR647.6 billion in June, down 2% from SR660.6 billion a year earlier.
The Kingdom’s Special Drawing Rights holdings declined 3.3% to SR78.6 billion, while its reserve position at the International Monetary Fund fell 0.4% to SR13.2 billion. Monetary gold holdings remained unchanged at SR1.62 billion.
Reserve assets also increased from the previous month, rising to SR1.85 trillion in June from SR1.83 trillion in May. However, June’s figure was slightly below the SR1.86 trillion recorded at the end of the first quarter.
The latest figures highlight the continued strength of Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserve position, with foreign securities remaining the main contributor to the increase over the past year.
