NCB to be renamed ‘Saudi National Bank’ following merger with Samba

Saudi Arabia’s largest lender National Commercial Bank (NCB) has planned to change its name to ‘Saudi National Bank’ after the completion of its intended merger with Samba Financial Group (Samba).

The merger will build up a new Saudi banking champion with more than $223 billion (SAR 837 billion) in assets, strategically positioned to drive the transformation of Saudi Arabia’s banking landscape and deliver progress towards Vision 2030.

The new name introduced reflects the creation of National Banking Champion for Saudi Arabia through the merger of two of the Kingdom’s leading financial institutions. The deal is expected to conclude in the first half of 2021, and the headquarters of the combined bank will be in Riyadh.

“This merger is about value creation for shareholders, customers, and employees of both banks. The name Saudi National Bank articulates our vision to create a bank that has the capital base and the liquidity to pursue growth and support social and economic transformation in Saudi Arabia.”

Ammar Abdulwahid Alkhudairy, Chairman of Samba said, “The proposed name Saudi National Bank embodies the goal of the merged entity of becoming the new banking champion for Saudi Arabia. Our aspiration is that this merger will create a trusted partner for companies and institutions; a backbone for the mega-projects that are transforming our nation; and a destination for the best industry talent.”

The new bank will help the Kingdom’s growing trade and capital flows in and out of global and domestic markets and encourage the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) through creative digital proposals. It will expand its retail banking, private banking, and client coverage to increase homeownership, savings, and investment.