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.