Saudi National Bank is live and immediately becomes the largest bank in Saudi Arabia. The new national banking champion is the result of the merger of National Commercial Bank and Samba Financial Group. In the wider region, the new lender ranks third by assets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Indeed, only Qatar National Bank and UAE-headquartered First Abu Dhabi Bank rank ahead of Saudi National Bank.
Saudi National Bank: by numbers
- Assets SAR837bn ($223.2bn)
- Market share: 25% in Saudi Arabia across all key metrics;
- Combined equity base: SAR120bn;
- Targeted cost synergies of merger: SAR800m;
- Ownership: NCB shareholders own 67.4%, Samba own 32.6% of Saudi National;
- Branches: 503
- ATMs: 4,100
- POS Devices: 126,500
The largest shareholder in SNB is Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund. Combined with the Public Pension Agency and the General Organisation for Social Insurance they have a shareholding of over 50%.
Go deeper with GlobalData
NCB agreed the deal with Samba last October and the new bank went live on 1 April.
NCB chairman Saeed Al-Ghamdi says: “Saudi National Bank will deliver value not just for our esteemed shareholders, customers, and employees, but for the nation as a whole.
“We will be uniquely positioned to transform the Saudi banking sector. And we will propel the Kingdom closer to its Vision 2030 goals.”
Saudi Vision 2030 plan
The Saudi Vision 2030 plan includes the goal of creating national champions. The new bank fulfils this role in financial services. The 2030 plan also incorporates flagships projects to be funded by the banking sector.
For example, Saudi Arabia is launching a $3trn initiative to boost the private sector. Of course, this will require support from the national banking champion.
In the short term, the Riyadh-headquartered bank needs to execute the merger deal. In particular, management is setting a cost saving target with estimated synergies of SAR800m.
