IslamicFinance.de

Saeed M. Al-Ghamdi is managing director and CEO of the new bank that resulted from the merger between the National Commercial Bank (NCB) and the Samba Financial Group. Before that, he was chairman of the NCB, building up more than 31 years of experience in the Saudi financial and banking sector. He has also been chairman of NCB Capital and the Saudi Credit Bureau. He serves on the board of the Real Estate General Authority and Misk Foundation and is a member of the consultative board of the College of Industrial Management at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.

According to Samba Financial Group, GCC sovereigns have raised $87bn in both domestic and international bonds and sukuks since January 2015. The largest international issuance so far is the $9bn offering from Qatar in late May. Abu Dhabi also issued eurobonds worth $5bn in May in both five and 10 year tenors, while Oman issued $2.5bn of bonds in May. The markets are waiting on a Saudi issuance, which Samba thinks will be around $15bn later this year, though the government has already secured a syndicated loan worth $10bn. Corporate international debt issuance is also on the rise, with the majority of offerings coming from financial institutions. Since January 2015, UAE banks have issued $10.9bn in bonds. According to Samba, GCC stock markets suffered large losses at the beginning of the year, owing to the general risk-off sentiment and a further decline in oil prices.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Long Term Issuer Default Ratings (LT IDRs) of seven Saudi Arabian banks. The affected banks are Al Rajhi Bank (ARB), National Commercial Bank (NCB), Riyad Bank (RB), SAMBA Financial Group (SAMBA), Saudi British Bank (SABB), Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) and Arab National Bank (ANB). At the same time Fitch has revised the Outlooks on Saudi Hollandi Bank (SHB), Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB), Alinma Bank (Alinma) and Bank Aljazira (BAJ) to Negative from Stable, while affirming their ratings.

Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Bank reported a 28.2 percent rise in its fourth-quarter net profit on Thursday, beating analyst forecasts as operating income was pushed up by higher fee income from banking services and other revenue. The kingdom's second-largest lender by assets made 1.95 billion riyals ($519.6 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, up from 1.52 billion riyals in the same period a year earlier. Samba Financial Group, the kingdom's third-largest bank by assets, reported flat net profit for the fourth quarter. It concludes a mixed earnings season for banks, with as many profit falls as rises at the kingdom's major lenders as the slump in oil prices begins to take some toll. Samba made a profit of 1.23 billion riyals in the three months to Dec. 31, the same figure it reported for the corresponding period a year earlier.

Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlooks on Al Rajhi Bank (ARB), National Commercial Bank (NCB), Riyad Bank (RB) and SAMBA Financial Group (SAMBA) to Negative from Stable. The revision of the banks' Outlooks to Negative reflects that their Long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) are at the Support Rating Floor (SRF) for Saudi domestic systemically important banks (D-SIB) of 'A+'. This would be revised down to 'A' in the event of a one-notch downgrade of the Saudi sovereign. The Saudi banks' Support Ratings (SRs) and SRFs reflect the extremely high probability of support from the Saudi authorities, if required. Upward potential for the ratings is limited in light of a weakening sovereign and operating environment.

Saudi Arabia's National Industrialization Company (Tasnee) has signed a sharia-compliant loan facility worth SR4 billion ($1.06 billion) with seven Saudi banks and Emirates NBD. The Saudi banks which contributed are Riyad Bank, Al Rajhi Bank, Bank Al Bilad, Saudi British Bank, Samba Financial Group, Banque Saudi Fransi and Saudi Investment Bank. The financing, signed on Sunday, will be repaid in eight years including a one-year grace period. The loan, which was covered 1.5 times, will finance the company's stakes in future projects and refinance existing loans.

Etihad Etisalat Company secured a SAR 1.2 billion facility through short-term Islamic financing at a competitive Murabah rate for 12 months through a consortium of five banks: Samba Financial Group, National Commercial Bank, Riyadh Bank, the Saudi Arabian British Bank and Saudi Fransi Bank.
The new financing will be used to expand and upgrade Mobily's current data communication infrastructure to grow Mobily's mobile and fixed broadband business in line with the company's strategic Growth, Efficiency and Differentiation (GED) objectives.

Saudi Electricity Co (SEC) has finalised an Islamic financing worth 5 billion riyals ($1.33 billion) with four local banks to finance projects in the kingdom.
The 15-year murabaha financing was provided by Saudi Arabia's largest lender by assets, the National Commercial Bank, alongside Saudi British Bank 1060.SE (SABB), Samba Financial Group 1090.SE and Banque Saudi Fransi 1050.SE.

Saudi Aramco and France's Total will launch $1 billion Islamic bond (Sukuk) in the Q4 to build 400,000 barrels per day crude refinery in Jubail.
Simon Eedle, global head of Islamic banking at Credit Agricole, said the long delayed $1 billion Sukuk which was part of the financing for the Jubail refinery will launch in the Q4. Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank and Samba Financial Group are the lead arrangers for the Sukuk.
Global Islamic bonds are poised to extend gains after climbing to a record this week, buoyed by Asian economic growth and a pickup in Gulf issuance.
Gulf sales of Sukuk, which pay asset returns, are rising after Dubai World reached an agreement with creditors last month to change terms on $24.9 billion of debt. Companies in the region plan to issue about $5.8 billion of Islamic debt in the fourth quarter, the most for the period in three years.