Leading Saudi banks, including the Kingdom's biggest Islamic lender Al Rajhi Bank, Tuesday reported impressive profits for the first quarter of this year. Al Rajhi Bank posted an 18 percent rise in first-quarter net profit due to an increase in operational income. Earnings for the three months ended March 31 rose to SR2.01 billion ($536 million) from SR1.70 billion a year earlier, the bank said in a statement posted on Saudi bourse website. Operational income rose 16.7 percent to SR3.43 billion, net income from finance and investments rose 4.3 percent to SR2.33 billion and total assets at the end of the period were SR234 billion, compared to SR203 billion a year earlier. Meanwhile, Saudi Hollandi Bank posted a 21.9 percent rise in net profit on higher operating income and lower expenses. The bank made SR290 million ($77.3 million) in the first quarter, compared to SR238 million for the same period a year ago. The bank attributed the result to lower operating expenses and higher operating income, which rose 11.3 percent to SR540 million from SR485 million in the first three months of 2011, it said in a statement posted on the Saudi bourse website.
