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QNB was founded in Doha on 6 June 1964 by Emiri Decree No. 7 as Qatar National Bank, the first locally owned commercial bank in Qatar. Before then, financial services were handled by foreign institutions, including Eastern Bank, which was later part of Standard Chartered. The new bank was formed as a 50-50 venture between the Qatari state and local private capital, with 15 million Qatari riyals in capital and 35 employees.

Its early role was tied to state development. In 1966, QNB financed the construction of Doha International Airport. After Qatar declared independence in 1970 and left British protection in 1971, oil revenue drove public investment, and QNB became a main financial channel for government projects. In 1974, it opened branches in Al Khor and Mesaieed. In 1975, Commercial Bank of Qatar entered as the first private local bank.

QNB opened its first foreign branch in London in 1976, followed by Paris in 1978. It held its first public share offering in 1979, installed ATMs in 1988, and issued VISA cards in 1989. In 2004, the bank shifted its international brand from Qatar National Bank to QNB. In 2005, it launched QNB Al Islami, opened a branch in Kuwait, received a license in Oman, and announced its entry into Yemen. In 2009, QNB Suisse SA opened in Geneva.

In 2013, QNB bought 97.12% of Egypt’s National Société Générale Bank for about $2 billion and renamed it QNB ALAHLI. In 2016, it acquired Turkey’s Finansbank from the National Bank of Greece for €2.7 billion, later renamed QNB Finansbank and, in October 2024, QNB Türkiye. It also took stakes in Ecobank Transnational, Housing Bank for Trade and Finance, and Commercial Bank International in the UAE.