A total of 17 UAE banks are among the 100 largest banking institutions in the Arab region, according to a new study conducted by the Union of Arab Banks, UAB.

Saudi Arabia came second in the list with 12 banks, followed by Qatar (12 banks), Lebanon (10), Kuwait (9) and Egypt (8).

The 17 Emirati banks account for a combined 20.6 percent, or US$605 billion, of the total assets of the top 100 Arab banks list, said Wissam Fattouh, Secretary-General of UAB, citing the analytical study based on data for the third quarter of 2016.

Aggregate assets worth US$2.93 trillion that are managed by the top 100 Arab banks represent 90 percent of the total assets of the Arab banking sector, he noted.

Assets of the 59 banks from the Gulf Co-operation Council members, that are already in the list, stand at $2 trillion, or 68.2 per cent.

Islamic banks in the list manage assets worth $486 billion.