Saudi biggest lender eyes acquisitions in Europe and Asia: Bloomberg

RIYADH: Saudi National Bank has been studying potential purchases of financial institutions in Europe and Asia, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Executives of the Kingdom’s biggest bank have been eyeing up potential targets and will present the outline of a new strategy to the board in the next few months, the people said, asking to remain anonymous for information privacy.

The lender, which has a market value of $82 billion, will only start analyzing potential targets in detail following the outcome of that review, according to the people cited by Bloomberg.

Saudi National Bank could make major acquisitions with backing from its largest shareholder, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund, the people said.

Wall Street advisory firms have already started pitching opportunities ranging from a takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG to a purchase of emerging markets-focused Standard Chartered, the people added. 

DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia’s largest bank, and Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Group are also among possibilities, the people said.

While representatives of the Bank and the PIF didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment, representatives for Credit Suisse, Julius Baer and Standard Chartered declined to comment.