Saudi Arabia’s Bank Deposits Increase by 3% YoY in 2Q 2020 Despite COVID-19 Pandemic Constraints

Bank deposits in Saudi Arabia have increased by 3% year-on-year (YoY) to USD 496.5 billion in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q 2020), according to a report by KPMG, in spite of the rising constraints brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic to other parts of the banking system.

However, KPMG noted that the Saudi banking industry saw an average rise of 41.4% YoY in anticipated credit losses to USD 2.293 billion in the three-month period ended 30th of June 2020. Furthermore, overall bank profits declined 7.4% YoY to USD 5.504 billion in 2Q 2020.

Despite this pessimistic outlook, KPMG stated that the USD 19.467 billion stimulus provided for Saudi Arabia’s banks by regulators had hel...