Saudi Al-Rajhi Bank, the world's biggest Islamic lender by market value, booked in the third quarter the highest amount of provisions for loan losses this year, bourse data showed.

Al-Rajhi made provisions worth around 594 million riyals ($158.4 million) in the three months to end-September against 421.6 million riyals during the previous quarter, the data showed.

The third-quarter loan loss provision is so far the highest made by a single listed Saudi bank since concerns over the solvency levels of heavily indebted Saudi conglomerates Saad Group and Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Bros started to surface in June.

The two conglomerates are at the centre of an estimated $22 billion debt restructuring. - Reuters