Net foreign assets reach SAR 1.51 tn in 1Q 2025

Net foreign assets in the Kingdom’s banking sector fell by just under 0.5% in 1Q 2025, reaching a surplus of SAR 1.51 tn by the end of March, according to the Saudi Central Bank’s (Sama) latest monthly statistical bulletin (pdf). On a monthly basis, the figure recorded at the end of March represented the first monthly rise in Saudi banks’ net foreign assets in eight months — however, the figure still remains the second lowest recorded in the last twelve months, representing a decrease of just over 9% y-o-y.

The monthly rise was driven by a jump in Sama’s foreign assets, which rose to just under SAR 1.62 tn by the end of the month, making up the bulk of the sector’s external position. This offset a continued decline in commercial banks’ foreign assets, which fell to a SAR 104.1 bn deficit, down from a deficit of SAR 52.5 bn in February.

MEANWHILE- Bank credit across all segments increased by 16.3% y-o-y to SAR 3.10 tn by the end of March. Personal loans once again accounted for the lion’s share of all credit handed out by local banks during the month, followed by corporate credit to the real estate sector, and financial and ins. activities.

Residential mortgages financed by banks also reached just under SAR 27.8 bn during 1Q 2025, up 25.6% y-o-y, with a total of nearly 36.3k contracts. This includes SAR 17.4 bn for houses, SAR 9 bn for apartments, and SAR 1.3 bn for land contracts.

ALSO- Broad money supply (M3) grew 8.2% y-o-y to SAR 3.05 tn by the end of 1Q 2025. Demand deposits (47.8%) topped the list of currency supply components, followed by time and savings deposits (35.2%), other quasi-cash deposits (8.7%), and banknotes in circulation outside banks (8.2%). Meanwhile, total liabilities reached SAR 5.33 tn, clocking a 7.2% y-o-y increase.

SOUND SMART- M3 is the broadest measure of money supply in a given economy. It includes cash, current accounts, and other money that can be quickly mobilized (what econ-nerds call M2) as well as large time deposits, institutional money market funds, short-term repurchase agreements, and larger liquid funds.

On the investment front: Government bonds rose for the ninth consecutive month to SAR 612.6 bn, up 11.2% y-o-y, representing 73.8% of total public sector liabilities. At the same time, bank credit to public institutions increased to SAR 217.3 bn in 1Q 2025, up 38% from the same period of the previous year.