British banking major Standard Chartered has secured a banking licence in Saudi Arabia.
The licence, approved by the Saudi Arabian cabinet, will enable the British lender to open a unit in the Middle-Eastern country.
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Since 2017, the British lender has been in discussions with the Saudi authorities to secure the banking licence.
In October last year, Standard Chartered CFO said that it is pushing the authorities to procure the approval, reported Reuters.
The grant of approval is said to be part of the Saudi government’s plan to reform the financial sector and make it more accessible to foreign lenders.
Commenting on the approval, Saudi Arabian central bank chief Ahmed al-Kholifey told the state TV: “This will help provide modern banking technology, create more jobs and meet the increasing financing needs in the sector, especially in light of the ambitious plans of Vision 2030.”
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By GlobalDataHe also added that the government is open to accepting more foreign bank units.
Currently, Saudi Arabia has 27 operating lenders, of which 15 are foreign banks.
Yesterday, Standard Chartered revealed a strategic plan to boost its return on equity to more than 10% by 2021.
Currently, the level of return on equity stands at 4.6%.
The bank also announced to carry out a restructuring of activates in four under-performing markets. They are India, Indonesia, Korea and the UAE.
