SNB Begins Transferring Customers’ Accounts to New Bank

Saudi National Bank (SNB) (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi National Bank (SNB) (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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SNB Begins Transferring Customers’ Accounts to New Bank

Saudi National Bank (SNB) (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi National Bank (SNB) (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Samba Financial Group, which recently merged with the National Commercial Bank, began transferring customers' accounts to the new National Bank of Saudi Arabia, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The transfer will be done gradually, and it will not affect the customer’s operations, as all clients will be contacted regarding their accounts and the monthly wages of employees.

Asharq Al-Awsat learned that Samba Financial Group informed its clients of the procedure. The group will contact them upon the transfer completion to start activating their accounts following simple steps online or by visiting the nearest SNB branch. They will then receive a ‘Mada” card which will be activated via SMS.

Last year, the Saudi National Commercial Bank (NCB) and Samba Financial Group (Samba) announced the completion of the biggest merger in the Middle East to create a new Saudi banking champion and a regional powerhouse, Saudi National Bank (SNB).

Saudi National Bank is the largest bank in Saudi Arabia with a 30 percent market share across all metrics. It has over $239 billion in total assets, $34 billion in shareholders’ equity, and a combined net profit of $4.2 billion.

The new bank began trading as a single listed entity on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) on April 1, while Samba shares had been de-listed, and all its assets, liabilities, and operations transferred into the Saudi National Bank, which will continue to honor Samba’s obligations going forward.

It is noteworthy that the Saudi National Bank appointed Ammar al-Khudairy as chairman and Yazeed al-Humied as vice chairman of the new company’s board.

The decision also included the appointment of Saeed al-Ghamdi as Managing Director and CEO of the Bank.



Oil Down $2 as Investors Digest Weak US Job Data

FILE - This Nov. 6, 2013 file photo shows a Whiting Petroleum Co. pump jack pulling crude oil from the Bakken region of the Northern Plains near Bainville, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - This Nov. 6, 2013 file photo shows a Whiting Petroleum Co. pump jack pulling crude oil from the Bakken region of the Northern Plains near Bainville, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
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Oil Down $2 as Investors Digest Weak US Job Data

FILE - This Nov. 6, 2013 file photo shows a Whiting Petroleum Co. pump jack pulling crude oil from the Bakken region of the Northern Plains near Bainville, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - This Nov. 6, 2013 file photo shows a Whiting Petroleum Co. pump jack pulling crude oil from the Bakken region of the Northern Plains near Bainville, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil prices slid by more than $2 on Friday, on track for a fourth successive weekly drop after data showed that the US economy added fewer jobs than expected in July and weak Chinese economic data further weighed.

Brent crude futures fell $2.61, or 3.28%, to $76.91 a barrel by 11:52 a.m. ET. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $2.82, or 3.7%, at $73.49, Reuters reported.

US crude futures fell by more than $3 per barrel during the session.

US job growth slowed more than expected in July as unemployment increased to 4.3%, pointing to possible weakness in the labor market and greater vulnerability to recession.

"We moved from a demand-driven market to a geopolitical one for maybe two days then we absolutely nosedived on all this economic data," said Tim Snyder, chief economist at Matador Economics, citing bearish Chinese data and Friday's weak US job data.

Economic data from top oil importer China and a survey showing weaker manufacturing activity across Asia, Europe and the United States raised the risk of a sluggish global economic recovery that would weigh on oil consumption.

Falling manufacturing activity in China also inhibited prices, adding to concerns about demand growth after June data showed imports and refinery activity lower than a year earlier.

Asia's crude oil imports in July fell to their lowest in two years, sapped by weak demand in China and India, data from LSEG Oil Research showed.

Oil investors are monitoring developments in the Middle East, where the killing of senior leaders of Iran-aligned militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah stoked fears that the region could be on the brink of all-out war, threatening to disrupt supplies.
Lebanon's Hezbollah said its conflict with Israel had entered a new phase and pledged a response after its top military commander was killed in an Israeli strike.