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GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi presented the latest financial indicators during the 86th Meeting of the Committee of Central Bank Governors in Manama. The gathering was chaired by Central Bank of Bahrain Governor Khalid Ebrahim Humaidan and attended by central bank governors from all six member states. According to a statement from the meeting, commercial bank assets across the GCC rose 11.9 percent year on year to more than $3.9 trillion at the end of 2025, bank deposits increased 10.6 percent to $2.3 trillion and net foreign assets held by central banks climbed 10.5 percent to $842 billion.
Al-Budaiwi stated in the press release that this path has been adopted by the GCC states as a steadfast approach and an unwavering commitment in all fields especially within the monetary and banking sectors. The Secretary-General added that swift transformations in the world economy against successive political crises necessitated enhancing the readiness of economic and monetary policies. He noted that the GCC states have proven resilient and solidified their position as reliable international economic partners due to the robustness of their economies, the stability of fiscal and monetary policies and the effectiveness of institutional structures.
A Kamco Invest report issued in December detailed how GCC banks posted a combined $16.6 billion in net income during the third quarter of 2025. That performance represented an 11.6 percent increase from the same period a year earlier and marked the third consecutive quarterly rise in profits. The report attributed the improvement to better credit conditions across the region as liquidity continued to expand.
An International Monetary Fund assessment released in December 2025 found that banking systems across the GCC remain well-capitalized, liquid and profitable while nonperforming loans mostly stay low and well provisioned. The IMF report showed growth in broad money and in bank credit to the nonfinancial private sector generally increased across the bloc in 2024 with the upward trend continuing into 2025. IMF staff calculations indicated that banking systems vary substantially in the size and composition of their asset exposures giving rise to different systemic risk profiles.
Earlier data from Kamco Invest placed total GCC bank assets above $3.7 trillion in the second quarter of 2025 after nearly $700 billion of growth over the preceding two years. The end-of-year figures released by the GCC demonstrate that expansion carried through the final half of 2025. The IMF has separately noted that total assets as a share of GDP range from smaller levels in Saudi Arabia and Oman to much larger ratios in Bahrain.
The meeting emphasised the importance of continued coordination and integration among GCC central banks to maintain the strength of the monetary and banking sectors. Indicators presented at the gathering confirmed the resilience of these sectors amid global economic shifts. Al-Budaiwi reiterated that such collaboration remains essential for sustaining the bloc’s position in international markets.
