SAB CEO sees no slowdown, pressure in Saudi Arabia’s business sectors

He emphasized that SAB sees no signs of slowdown or pressure across business sectors in the Kingdom.

Cripps attributed the improved profitability during the quarter largely to effective cost management.

The bank has not observed any distress in corporate client activity across segments, he said, noting that credit risk was limited to just one or two names among the bank’s clients during Q2.

The CEO said SAB is comfortable with its capital levels at present, but future expansion will necessitate raising more capital. Thus, the bank intends to tap international markets again, with a growing focus on broader participation from Asian markets in upcoming financing rounds.

Cripps pointed out that the bank was able to offset lower interest income with an increase in fee-based revenues, and that it focused on residential mortgages to stabilize interest returns. The bank also acted early in response to expectations of falling interest rates.

According to Argaam data, SAB’s net profit rose 5% to SAR 4.3 billion in H1 2025, from SAR 4.1 billion in H1 2024. Second-quarter profit climbed 5% year-on-year to SAR 2.1 billion.