The number of bank branches operating in Saudi Arabia rose to 1,929 in H1 2026 from 1,910 at the end of 2025, the highest since 2021 and a third consecutive year of increase after declines between 2018 and 2023 from a peak of 2,076 in 2019. Al Rajhi Bank remained the largest network with 513 branches, followed by SNB at 489 and Riyad Bank at 232 — the top three holding about 64% of all branches with 1,234 between them — while SNB and Riyad Bank each added eight branches and Arab National Bank closed three, taking its network to 118.
Strategy teams at Saudi banks should note that the top three banks hold about 64% of all branches, totaling 1,234. This concentration is now becoming a distribution advantage instead of just a cost issue.
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SR 3.6bn, 2,505 apartments, one fund
Alramz Real Estate established a Shariah-compliant fund of more than SR3.6bn, managed by SNB Capital, with Alramz holding 100% of the units. The vehicle covers a 90,000+ sqm site in Al Raed district, Riyadh. 2,505 residential apartments plus commercial space, on a development contract worth roughly SR1.2bn, with 10% development fees and 2.5% marketing fees over an approximately five-year term.
2,505 units delivered into a market where new residential mortgage lending has roughly halved year on year. The build is a five-year bet that the financing side normalises well before handover, and that is the assumption to interrogate, not the design.
Furniture up, education down
Point-of-sale spending for the week ended 19 September broke down to show furniture and home supplies rising 11.4% to SAR 503.8 million and electronic devices up 5% to SAR 203.45 million, while education spending fell 42.8% to SAR 180.69 million and books and stationery fell 18.4% to SAR 113.31 million. Total spending was $3.44 billion, or SAR 12.92 billion, across 241.1 million transactions, with food and beverages down 9% to SAR 2.07 billion and restaurants and cafés down 6.7% to SAR 1.58 billion; economist Talat Hafiz linked the furniture rise to National Day promotional campaigns.
Education falling 42.8% while furniture rose 11.4% in the same week is a calendar effect in both directions, and it is why weekly retail data should be read by category rather than in total.
Spending cooled by 1.7 billion
Point-of-sale transactions fell to SR14.6 billion in the week to 8 August from SR16.31 billion the week before, with transaction count down to 253.4 million from 267.1 million, Riyadh accounted for SR4.88 billion of it, or 33.4%. Food and beverages led at SR2.28 billion across 58.41 million transactions, ahead of restaurants and cafes at SR1.9 billion.
The data shows that average spending has gone down. In reality, it's still the same people going out just as often, but now they pick cheaper options when they get there.
