RIYADH: The net profit of listed banks operating in the Gulf Cooperation Council region rebounded in the first quarter of 2026, posting a solid recovery after a decline in the previous three months, an analysis showed.
According to the latest report by Kamco Invest, aggregate net profits for listed banks in the region stood at $16.8 billion, registering a quarter-on-quarter growth of 4.6 percent and a year-on-year expansion of 5 percent.
This uptick comes as the region’s banks demonstrated resilience despite a complex global interest rate environment shaped by ongoing Middle East conflicts, elevated energy prices, and divergent monetary policies worldwide.
The strong net profit growth among banks in the region also aligns with an analysis made by S&P Global in March, which said that the GCC banking sector faces limited short-term credit risk from the Iran war, supported by strong financial buffers and sovereign backing.
“The increase in bottom line was led by a broad-based growth across countries aggregates with only Oman registering a decline, while the rest of the countries showed a quarter-on-quarter increase,” Kamco Invest said.
