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Bloomberg provides an overview of which lenders are in merger talks and where those conversations are at. Talks are underway in Abu Dhabi for a possible tie-up between Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank with First Abu Dhabi Bank, a merger that would create one of the Middle East’s largest lenders. Saudi Arabia’s biggest lender National Commercial Bank said at the end of 2018 that it’s starting initial talks with Riyad Bank. This deal would form the Gulf’s third-biggest lender. Dubai’s largest bank Emirates NBD is buying Turkey’s Denizbank for $2.8 billion. The three-way merger of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Union National Bank and Al Hilal creates the fifth-biggest lender in the Gulf.

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.

The National Commercial Bank (NCB) has settled an issuance of subordinated Additional Tier 1 Capital Sukuk on Wednesday 23 December 2015, in the amount of SAR 2.7 billion through a private placement offer in Saudi Arabia. The issuance is intended to strengthen the Bank's capital base in accordance with the Basel III framework and sustain its growth while maintaining healthy capital adequacy levels. Additionally, the Sukuk will continue to extend the maturity profile of NCB's liabilities while continuing to diversify its sources of funding. The Sukuk are perpetual securities with no fixed redemption date. However, NCB has the right to call the Sukuk on a predefined date. All required approvals from the regulatory authorities have been obtained for the issuance. NCB Capital Company acted as Sole Lead Manager.

The long-term issuer default ratings of Saudi British Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi and Arab National Bank were revised to negative from stable
Ratings agency Fitch has downgraded the outlooks on 3 Saudi Arabian banks as low Crude Oil prices continue to plague the Kingdom’s economy.
The long-term issuer default ratings of Saudi British Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi and Arab National Bank were revised to negative from stable, Fitch said in a statement.
The revision was based on the tougher operating environment facing the Saudi Arabian banking sector, mainly due to the effect of lower Crude Oil prices on government spending and the filter down effect this has on the rest of the economy.

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.

National Commercial Bank (NCB), Saudi Arabia's largest lender, is selling SR2 billion ($533 million) of capital-boosting sukuk, two banking sources with knowledge of the matter said on Sunday. The offer, which enhances the bank's Tier 1 - or core - capital and is compliant with Basel III banking regulations, is the third such transaction by NCB since June, and is part of a plan to raise as much as 7 billion riyals of capital before the end of 2015, one of the sources said. NCB didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank (NCB) is selling a 2 billion riyal ($533.3 million) sukuk as part of its plans to raise capital. The offer, which enhances the bank's Tier 1 - or core - capital and is compliant with Basel III banking regulations, is the third such transaction by NCB since June, and is part of a plan to raise as much as 7 billion riyals of capital before the end of 2015. In the same way as the previous two issues, the latest sukuk is structured with a perpetual tenor but with a clause in the documentation which allows the bank to redeem the Islamic bond after a certain date. NCB Capital is acting as sole arranger. The transaction will be privately placed with one or more government-owned investment funds.

The National Commercial Bank ( NCB ) has successfully settled an issuance of subordinated Additional Tier I capital Sukuk, in the amount of SAR 2 Billion, and compliant with Islamic Sharia principles through a private placement offer in Saudi Arabia. Sukuk issuances such as this are intended to strengthen the Bank's capital base in accordance with the Basel III framework and sustain its growth while maintaining healthy capital adequacy levels. Additionally, the Sukuk will continue to extend the maturity profile of NCB 's liabilities while continuing to diversify its sources of funding. NCB Capital Company acted as sole Lead Manager.

Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank (NCB) has announced the sale of a capital-boosting Islamic bond, raising 1 billion riyals ($267 million) through a sukuk which will enhance its core capital. The kingdom's largest bank said on Monday the privately-placed sukuk, which would boost its Tier 1 capital, was Basel III-compliant and had a perpetual tenor, although the bank would have the right to call the sukuk on a predefined date. However, it did not disclose the call date in the bourse filing announcing the transaction. JP Morgan and NCB Capital, the investment banking arm of NCB, were the deal's arrangers. NCB joins a string of Saudi Arabian banks that have sought to replenish their capital reserves in the last couple of years, by issuing capital-boosting bonds and bonus shares.

Not even a fatwa against National Commercial Bank’s initial public offering could derail the biggest-ever share sale in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia’s largest bank said in a statement today it attracted 311 billion riyals ($83 billion) of bids from about 1.26 million investors. While that pales by comparison with the almost 9 million who subscribed for Alinma Bank’s IPO in 2008, NCB’s offering to sell 300 million shares was 23-times oversubscribed, signaling investors pitched for larger blocs of shares. The IPO is considered un-Islamic, as criticism deepened over the bank’s non Shariah-compliant assets. To mitigate the controversy, NCB pledged to divest about $38 billion of assets to become fully Shariah-compliant in five years.

Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank is going ahead with an initial public offering worth $6 billion despite opposition from Muslim clerics. The IPO from Sunday, making NCB the last Saudi bank to go public, is expected to be one of the largest in the world this year. However, Abdullah al-Mutlaq, a member of the kingdom's official Council of Senior Ulemas, said that the IPO is haram, or forbidden under Islamic tenets which ban usury. On the other hand, NCB's sharia advisory council on Thursday declared the share offer to be acceptable under Islamic law. An NCB prospectus says the bank will offer 300 million shares to the public at 45 riyals ($12) each, for a value of $3.6 billion, while another 200 million shares will be allocated to the state pension agency bringing the total to $6 billion.

Saudi Arabia's government plans to sell a 15 percent stake in National Commercial Bank (NCB) in an initial public offer. Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf said the IPO plan would be submitted to the market regulator in the third quarter of this year. Sovereign fund Public Investment Fund will be the seller. The fund, which currently owns most of NCB, will also sell an additional 10 percent stake to the government's Public Pension Agency. The pricing of the IPO was not discussed but it is likely to be one of Saudi Arabia's biggest. Until now, direct foreign investment is not allowed in Saudi's stock market. Authorities are preparing to open the market but it is not clear when this will happen.

The National Commercial Bank (NCB) has successfully placed its 5 billion Saudi riyal (Dh4.89 billion) 5-year subordinated Tier II capital sukuk offering. Great interest from the investor community generated a 2.1x oversubscribed orderbook exceeding the initial target issuance size of 4 billion riyals, allowing the transaction to be upsized to 5 billion riyals without impacting the final pricing of the sukuk. NCB’s issuance was priced at 6-month SIBOR+110bps. HSBC Saudi Arabia acted as a lead coordinator and GIB Capital, HSBC Saudi Arabia, JP Morgan Saudi Arabia and NCB Capital acted as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners. The issuance proceeds will be used to further support NCB’s growth plans across the various business segments of the bank.

The National Commercial Bank (NCB) has successfully placed its SR5 billion 10 non-call 5-year subordinated Tier II capital sukuk offering. The transaction represents NCB's debut of local riyal issuance and its inaugural Tier II capital offering. Interest from the investor community generated a 2.1x oversubscribed orderbook exceeding the initial target issuance size of SR4 billion, allowing the transaction to be upsized to SR5 billion without impacting the final pricing of the sukuk. NCB's issuance was priced at 6-month SIBOR+110bps. The issuance proceeds will be used to further support NCB's growth plans across the various business segments of the bank.

In cooperation with Chambers of Commerce in Abha and Eastern Region, the National Commercial Bank ( NCB ) has recently celebrated the graduates of "How to Start Your Small Business" Course. A number of 94 entrepreneurs from Jeddah, Abha and Eastern Region enrolled in the course. The course has covered a great number of entrepreneurs projects in different areas including industrial, commercial and other projects. It included theory training for 10 days, followed by 6 sessions within 3 months for practical training, which included a program for follow-up and consultancy. The course comes in line with NCB CSR programs, through which the bank trains entrepreneurs from men and women to start their enterprises, encourages investment culture and creates a competitive environment in the local market.

The National Commercial Bank (NCB) recently signed an agreement with King Khalid Foundation to give financial donations to the best charity foundations that were able present a plan of a charity project. The aim of this initiative is to support training programs and build the capabilities of charity foundations’ staff to promote efficiency, effectiveness and performance, which will be positively reflected on the society. The list of wining projects included Qualifying the Adolescents project presented by Charity Society for Marriage & Family Care in Baha, Rehabilitation of Visually Impaired project presented by Ebsar Foundation, My Skill is Enough project presented by Albir Society Jeddah, and Qualifying the Job Seekers from Ensan Committee project presented by Charity Committee for Orphans Care (Ensan), Riyadh. Each foundation received a financial donation at the value of SR 200,000.

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation hired three banks for a local-currency sukuk. The Saudi Arabian affiliate of HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), National Commercial Bank’s investment banking unit and Standard Chartered Plc will manage the sukuk sale. NCB Capital and Standard Chartered bid jointly for the mandate. It was not specified how much the authority sought to raise, neither was the timing of the sale. GACA said last year it plans to issue a second tranche of notes to fund an airport expansion in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The company sold Islamic debt last year at 2.5 percent and used proceeds to finance an airport expansion in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah.

National Commercial Bank (NCB) has received the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions' approval to become a member of the council. The resolution was made after a meeting in Jeddah. According to secretary-general of the council - Dr. Omar Zuhair Hafiz - the general assembly of the organization has nominated NCB to become a member of the council's board of directors. The bank's membership is likely to contribute to the promotion of the activities of the council through offering a series of innovative Islamic banking services and products.

International Polymers Company (IPC), hastaken signed a Shariah compliant SR1.4 bln (US$373 mln) loan from Saudi banks, Riyad Bank, National Commercial Bank, Saudi Hollandi Bank, and The Saudi British Bank.
The funds will sustain the project financing of a production plant currently being built in Jubail Industrial City.

The third annual Global Islamic Finance Report (GIFR) 2012 was made in association with the Saudi-based National Commercial Bank and Malaysian-based CIMB Islamic and some other partners in Islamic banking and finance industry. The report is composed of in depth research and analysis on the Islamic financial industry.
After the success of the previous two GIFRs, the GIFR 2012 persists its objective of informing readers about the current state of the international Islamic finance market.
A unique characteristic of the GIFR 2012 is its special focus on social responsibility and philanthropy. The core section of the GIFR 2012 is outlined into three virtual themes revolving around social responsibility and philanthropy.