Mubasher - Mr. Jamal: Personal loans in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia rose by 6.76% year-on-year at the end of the first quarter of 2025, an increase of SAR 32.3 billion compared to their value at the end of the same quarter last year.

The cumulative value of personal loans in the Kingdom (facilities provided by commercial banks to natural persons to finance personal and consumer needs and for non-commercial purposes) reached SAR 510.44 billion by the end of the first quarter of 2025, compared to SAR 478.14 billion by the end of the same quarter of 2024, according to statistics prepared by Mubasher based on data from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).

Personal loans are divided into consumer loans, which represent the largest proportion of personal loans at 93.99%, and credit card loans, which represent 6.01%. These loans exclude real estate financing, financial leasing, and financing granted for the purpose of trading in stocks.

On a quarterly basis, the value of personal loans (consumer loans and credit card loans) increased by approximately 1.6%, equivalent to SAR 8.09 billion, during the first quarter of 2025, compared to their value at the end of the previous quarter , which amounted to SAR 502.35 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024.

It's worth noting that personal loans are a type of credit facility offered by banks and other credit institutions. However, personal loans differ from other types of loans in that they are provided for a specific purpose, usually for personal expenses.

479.8 billion riyals is the total amount of consumer loans.

The value of cumulative consumer loans in Saudi Arabia rose by approximately 6.4% year-on-year by the end of the first quarter of 2025, representing a growth of SAR 28.89 billion compared to the value at the end of the same quarter last year.

The total value of consumer loans in the Kingdom reached SAR 479.78 billion by the end of the first quarter of this year, compared to SAR 450.89 billion by the end of the corresponding quarter in 2024.

Consumer loans cover several sectors, most notably real estate renovation and improvement loans, car and personal transportation loans, furniture and durable goods loans, education, healthcare, tourism and travel loans, and others.

The value of car and personal transportation loans reached SAR 12.21 billion by the end of the first quarter of this year, compared to SAR 11.66 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2024, a 4.75% increase year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the value of loans for real estate renovation and improvement reached SAR 8.77 billion, a 17.1% decrease from their value at the end of the first quarter of 2024, which amounted to SAR 10.58 billion.

Furniture and durable goods loans amounted to SAR 8.68 billion, education loans amounted to SAR 8.53 billion, tourism and travel loans amounted to SAR 1.02 billion, and healthcare loans amounted to SAR 469 million by the end of the first quarter of 2025.

Other loans accounted for 91.7% of the cumulative value of consumer loans in the Kingdom by the end of the first quarter of 2025, amounting to SAR 440.1 billion, recording a 7.06% year-on-year growth, compared to SAR 411.07 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2024.

On a quarterly basis, the value of consumer loans increased during the first quarter of 2025 compared to its value in the fourth quarter of 2024, which amounted to SAR 432.19 billion, increasing by approximately 1.8%, equivalent to SAR 7.91 billion.

Credit card loans rise 12.5%

Total credit card loans also rose by 12.5% year-on-year to SAR 30.66 billion by the end of the first quarter of 2025, compared to SAR 27.25 billion in the same quarter last year, an increase of SAR 3.41 billion.

The value of credit card loans decreased by approximately 2.2%, or SAR 702 million, by the end of the first quarter of this year, compared to its value of SAR 31.37 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024.