Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB) on Sunday said it would purchase rival lender Samba Financial Group in a deal valued at about US$15 billion to create what would be the kingdom’s largest bank.
The deal underscores a push by financial lenders to consolidate as the kingdom grapples with the twin shocks of a COVID-19-led economic slowdown and low crude oil prices.
“The National Commercial Bank and Samba financial group today announced that they have entered into a binding agreement to merge,” the banks said in a statement. “If approved by shareholders and regulators, the merger will bring together two highly complementary banks to create Saudi Arabia’s largest bank.”
The deal is valued at about 55.7 billion riyals (US$14.9 billion), the statement said, adding that the merged entity would have more than US$223 billion in assets.
The banks said the deal was aligned with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s Vision 2030, an ambitious plan to diversify the kingdom’s oil-reliant economy.
“Saudi Arabia is undergoing a historic transformation with Vision 2030,” NCB chairman Saeed Mohammed al-Ghamdi was quoted as saying in the statement. “Our ambition is to create a national champion that can facilitate the transformation.”
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