In this year’s The Asian Banker Strongest Islamic Banks By Balance Sheet evaluation, Al Rajhi Bank is on the top of the list, while Dubai Islamic Bank and Kuwait Finance House came in second and third. The top 10 strongest Islamic banks include three Saudi banks, two Malaysian banks, two Qatari banks, and one bank each from Kuwait, Pakistan and the UAE. The Asian Banker launched the inaugural evaluation of what will be an annual ranking of the largest and strongest Islamic banks, mainly in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

The 100 largest Islamic banks posted an average asset growth of 8% after removing the anomaly of MBSB Bank in Malaysia, which completed the acquisition of Asian Finance Bank in 2018. It is higher than the average asset growth rates recorded by the 100 largest banks in the Middle East and the 500 largest banks in Asia Pacific, at 5.3% and 5.6%, respectively.

On average, Saudi Arabia achieved the highest strength score at 3.9 out of five, followed by Kuwait (3.7), Qatar (3.5) and UAE (3.3). The profitability and asset quality of Saudi Islamic banks are strong, and they maintained a robust capital position and ample liquidity. Their average return on assets (ROA) reached 2.5%, compared to 1.5% recorded by all the 100 banks. The average strength score of Malaysian Islamic banks on the list is 3.1 out of five, lower than the average recorded by all the 100 banks, at 3.2. Their average ROA was only 0.9%.

For a full explanation of the evaluation criteria please click here.

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