Saudi accounts for 33% of all activity as GCC banks sell more debt in 1Q 2024 than they did in all of last year

Saudi banks have sold more USD-denominated debt than their counterparts in the UAE as local lenders look to both offset the high cost of liquidity at home and line up financing to support growth, according to a report by Fitch Ratings.

GCC lenders have issued debt worth a combined USD 20 bn so far this year, with Saudi banks accounting for 33% of activity and UAE banks 26%.

In context: Banks in the GCC issued USD 15.2 bn worth of debt in all of 2023. That makes the first quarter of this year the “strongest quarter ever” for USD debt issuance by regional lenders, backed by strong investor appetite for stories that are backed by high oil prices and credit growth here in the Kingdom.

The look ahead: Fitch expects issuances this year and next year to surpass a record USD 25.2 bn raised in 2020.

What they said: “We expect Saudi banks’ US dollar issuance to continue gathering pace due to the strong credit growth outlook, especially in the corporate segment, and tight liquidity in the banking sector,” Fitch Ratings said.

How much more affordable is international borrowing? Saudi banks are, on average, paying coupon rates of 5.1% on debt raised in the frist quarter of this year “well below the three-month Saudi interbank offered rate of 6.2%,” Fitch notes.