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Best Bank and Best Equity House: Samba |
Middle Eastern regional awards
The growing presence of foreign banks in Saudi Arabia has added excitement to what had been a stodgy and unimaginative market. Most of the local institutions are rising to the challenge. Several, such as National Commercial Bank, are in the middle of transformations. Others, such as Al Rajhi Bank, continue to perform well and Arab National Bank has yet again delivered excellent profits when others are finding the going tough, while maintaining sound pragmatic management.
However the outstanding bank is Samba, which has delivered excellent results across all its businesses and is demonstrating the strategic vision that will transform it from a leading Saudi bank to a top regional financial institution.
One of the qualities that set Samba apart is its readiness to introduce new products and services, which it is able to deliver through a state-of-the-art distribution network. It is the only bank to offer a full spectrum of online services to its customers and is the first to offer a full straight-through process IPO subscription while allowing customers without investment accounts to sell their shares online.