RIYADH: According to official figures, bank loans in Saudi Arabia increased 14.39 percent year over year to SR2.96 trillion ($788 billion) in December. Corporate loans were the primary driver, increasing 18.6% to SR1.6 trillion, according to data from the Saudi Central Bank, or SAMA. Among the lending activity data accessible in SAMA’s reporting, this represents the largest yearly growth for business loans since 2021.
Corporate lending was led by real estate activity, which accounted for 21% of the total and increased by 33% to SR333.34 billion. Compared to an 18.7 percent share during the same time last year, this is an increase. With an annual growth rate of 10.94 percent, wholesale and retail trade accounted for 12.51 percent of corporate credit, reaching SR198.87 billion.
At SR182.95 billion, the manufacturing sector—a crucial part of Vision 2030’s economic diversification objectives—accounted for 11.51 percent of the total. Water, gas and electricity services made up 11.51 percent of the overall corporate share, which increased by almost 29.12 percent to SR182.94 billion. Despite having a lesser 0.51 percent share of corporate credit, professional, scientific, and technical activities saw the biggest increase, growing at an annual rate of 40.76 percent to SR8.12 billion. Loans for financial and insurance operations grew by 31% to SR136.6 billion, trailing real estate with the third-highest growth rate.
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