Saudi National Bank (SNB), the Kingdom’s largest bank by assets, posted a marginal increase in first-quarter profit on Monday (Apr 29), as the lender was hit by higher operating expenses.

It reported a 0.4 per cent rise in net profit to 5.04 billion riyals (S$1.82 billion) in the January-to-March period, beating analysts’ estimate of 4.97 billion riyals, according to LSEG data.

The lender posted a 10.4 per cent increase in loans and advances to 625.2 billion riyals at the end of March, while customer deposits rose 7.4 per cent to 656.3 billion riyals.

SNB’s net result for the quarter was partially offset by higher operating expenses, including net impairment charge for expected credit losses, which grew almost 52 per cent from the previous quarter, according to a stock exchange filing.

Total assets stood at 1.07 trillion riyals, up 3.4 per cent from Dec 31, driven by growth in financing and investments.

SNB last month appointed a new chief executive to lead the bank, replacing its former acting CEO who was appointed to the role in 2023 in the turmoil following the fall of Credit Suisse.

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The new CEO, Tareq Abdulrahman Al Sadhan, will start his new role on May 1. REUTERS