Prominent financial magazine "The Banker" included 83 Arab banks in its annual Top 1000 World Banks ranking this year, according to statement from the Union of Arab Banks (UAB).
The UAE had the largest number of banks on the list at 19, followed by Saudi Arabia with 12. Lebanon, Qatar and Bahrain each had nine banks on the list, followed by Kuwait that had eight. Egypt and Oman each had five on the list, while Morocco had four and Jordan two.
The National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia, which is the largest bank in the Arab world and a pioneer in Islamic banking and finance, was the highest ranked Arab bank at No. 106 on the global list.
It was followed by the Qatar National Bank which was No. 107, a major step up from its ranking of 141 in 2013.
The Banker's Middle East editor James King said in an interview that the region's presence in this year's ranking followed two main trends. The first is that Gulf-based banks once again dominated the rankings, accounting for 21 out of the top 25 regional banks.
The second is that the rankings have proved the growing success of Islamic finance and Shariah-based banks, as they accounted for eight out of the top 10 highest movers in the Middle East, as they continue to find higher growth beyond the region.
However, King added that due to increased capital strengthening, the Middle East's profitability as a share of the global total has declined this year. "In terms of the Gulf banks from the (GCC), they've actually suffered because their capital levels are so high," he said.