Arab National Bank - Saudi Arabia

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Arab National Bank (ANB) offers a full range of domestic and international commercial and Islamic products and services to the retail and corporate sectors.

The bank also offers consultancy and investment, mutual funds and assets management, local and international equity trading, foreign exchange and treasury services.

Since its inception in 1979, ANB has grown to become one of the top 10 banks in the Middle East. Today it operates 143 local branches, 21 ladies’ sections and one branch in London.

The bank currently has 3,532 employees, out of which 90 percent are Saudi citizens.

The company posted a net profit of $663m in 2008, compared with $656m in 2007, an increase of one percent. Net profit in the fourth quarter fell 11 percent to $116m. “Against the backdrop of a challenging global environment, the bank managed to show an improved level of profitability reflecting the robust quality of its assets mix,” said chief executive Dr Robert Eid.

Shares in the bank gained 29 percent last month as Saudi financials’ shares staged a rally on the news that the Kingdom’s banks reported profits of $1.60bn in the first two months of 2009, compared with $1.39bn in the corresponding period last year.